The Essentials of Business Etiquette you should know when sending email as a professional.
1. Include a clear, direct subject line
Examples of a good subject line include "Meeting date changed," "Quick question about your presentation," or "Suggestions for the proposal."
"People often decide whether to open an email based on the subject line," Pachter says. "Choose one that lets readers know you are addressing their concerns or business issues."
2.Use a professional email address
If you work for a company, you should use your company email address. But if you use a personal email account — whether you are self-employed or just like using it occasionally for work-related correspondences — then you should be careful when choosing that address, Pachter says.
You should always have an email address that conveys your name so that the recipient knows exactly who is sending the email. Never use email addresses — perhaps remnants of your grade-school days — that are not appropriate for use in the workplace, such as "babygirl@..." or "beerlover@...," no matter how much you love a cold brew.
3. Use professional salutations
Don't use laid-back colloquial expressions like "Hey you guys," "Yo," or "Hi folks."
"The relaxed nature of our writings should not affect the salutation in an email," she says. "Hey is a very informal salutation and generally it should not be used in the workplace. And Yo is not okay either. Use Hi or Hello instead."
She also advises against shortening anyone's name. Say "Hi Michael," unless you're certain he prefers to be called "Mike."
4. Think twice before hitting "reply all"
No one wants to read emails from 20 people that have nothing to do with them. Ignoring the emails can be difficult, with many people getting notifications of new messages on their smartphones or distracting pop-up messages on their computer screens.
Refrain from hitting "reply all" unless you really think everyone on the list needs to receive the email, Pachter says.
5. Be cautious with humor
Humor can easily get lost in translation without the right tone or facial expressions. In a professional exchange, it's better to leave humor out of emails unless you know the recipient well. Also, something that you think is funny might not be funny to someone else.
Pachter says, "Something perceived as funny when spoken may come across very differently when written. When in doubt, leave it out."
6.Add the email address last
"You don't want to send an email accidentally before you have finished writing and proofing the message," Pachter says. "Even when you are replying to a message, it's a good precaution to delete the recipient's address and insert it only when you are sure the message is ready to be sent."
7. Proofread every message
Your mistakes won't go unnoticed by the recipients of your email.
"And, depending upon the recipient, you may be judged for making them," Pachter says.
Don't rely on spell-check. Read and reread your email a few times, preferably aloud, before sending it off.
"One supervisor intended to write 'Sorry for the inconvenience,'" Pachter says. "But he relied on his spell-check and ended up writing 'Sorry for the incontinence.'"
8. Double-check that you've selected the correct recipient
Pachter says to pay careful attention when typing a name from your address book on the email's "To" line.
"It's easy to select the wrong name, which can be embarrassing to you and to the person who receives the email by mistake," she says.
9. Keep tabs on your tone
Just as jokes get lost in translation, tone is easy to misconstrue without the context you'd get from vocal cues and facial expressions. Accordingly, it's easy to come off as more abrupt than you might have intended. You meant "straightforward"; they read "angry and curt."
To avoid misunderstandings, Pachter recommends that you read your message out loud before hitting send.
"If it sounds harsh to you, it will sound harsh to the reader," she says.
For best results, avoid using unequivocally negative words — "failure," "wrong," or "neglected" — and always say "please" and "thank you."
Provide your reader with some information about you, Pachter suggests:
1. Include a clear, direct subject line
Examples of a good subject line include "Meeting date changed," "Quick question about your presentation," or "Suggestions for the proposal."
"People often decide whether to open an email based on the subject line," Pachter says. "Choose one that lets readers know you are addressing their concerns or business issues."
2.Use a professional email address
If you work for a company, you should use your company email address. But if you use a personal email account — whether you are self-employed or just like using it occasionally for work-related correspondences — then you should be careful when choosing that address, Pachter says.
You should always have an email address that conveys your name so that the recipient knows exactly who is sending the email. Never use email addresses — perhaps remnants of your grade-school days — that are not appropriate for use in the workplace, such as "babygirl@..." or "beerlover@...," no matter how much you love a cold brew.
3. Use professional salutations
Don't use laid-back colloquial expressions like "Hey you guys," "Yo," or "Hi folks."
"The relaxed nature of our writings should not affect the salutation in an email," she says. "Hey is a very informal salutation and generally it should not be used in the workplace. And Yo is not okay either. Use Hi or Hello instead."
She also advises against shortening anyone's name. Say "Hi Michael," unless you're certain he prefers to be called "Mike."
4. Think twice before hitting "reply all"
No one wants to read emails from 20 people that have nothing to do with them. Ignoring the emails can be difficult, with many people getting notifications of new messages on their smartphones or distracting pop-up messages on their computer screens.
Refrain from hitting "reply all" unless you really think everyone on the list needs to receive the email, Pachter says.
5. Be cautious with humor
Humor can easily get lost in translation without the right tone or facial expressions. In a professional exchange, it's better to leave humor out of emails unless you know the recipient well. Also, something that you think is funny might not be funny to someone else.
Pachter says, "Something perceived as funny when spoken may come across very differently when written. When in doubt, leave it out."
6.Add the email address last
"You don't want to send an email accidentally before you have finished writing and proofing the message," Pachter says. "Even when you are replying to a message, it's a good precaution to delete the recipient's address and insert it only when you are sure the message is ready to be sent."
7. Proofread every message
Your mistakes won't go unnoticed by the recipients of your email.
"And, depending upon the recipient, you may be judged for making them," Pachter says.
Don't rely on spell-check. Read and reread your email a few times, preferably aloud, before sending it off.
"One supervisor intended to write 'Sorry for the inconvenience,'" Pachter says. "But he relied on his spell-check and ended up writing 'Sorry for the incontinence.'"
8. Double-check that you've selected the correct recipient
Pachter says to pay careful attention when typing a name from your address book on the email's "To" line.
"It's easy to select the wrong name, which can be embarrassing to you and to the person who receives the email by mistake," she says.
9. Keep tabs on your tone
Just as jokes get lost in translation, tone is easy to misconstrue without the context you'd get from vocal cues and facial expressions. Accordingly, it's easy to come off as more abrupt than you might have intended. You meant "straightforward"; they read "angry and curt."
To avoid misunderstandings, Pachter recommends that you read your message out loud before hitting send.
"If it sounds harsh to you, it will sound harsh to the reader," she says.
For best results, avoid using unequivocally negative words — "failure," "wrong," or "neglected" — and always say "please" and "thank you."
10. Include your Signature
Generally, this would state your full name, title, the company name, and your contact information, including a phone number. You also can add a little publicity for yourself, but don't go overboard with any sayings or artwork.
Use the same font, type size, and color as the rest of the email, she says.
No comments:
Post a Comment