9 Tips for Better Email Ettiquette

The average worker spends 28% of her work week managing email. And now that electronic mail has replaced most forms of business communication, surpassing the phone and even in-person meetings, it pays to pay attention to your form.

Are you addressing your boss or co-workers in a manner that fits your message?  Are you clogging up your client’s inbox with unnecessary attachments? Are you being perfectly professional… or too stuffy?

Here’s what your email says about you — and some tips on how to be a more effective communicator:

Stop the Urgency

Labeling your email as “urgent” can come across as presumptuous and ineffective, as many people don’t pay attention to the urgency level of an email, anyway – and, of course, everyone views priorities differently. Instead, experts recommend putting a signifier in the subject line like “IMPORTANT: Mailers Sent Late” or “Urgently Seeking Candidates” instead of a vague subject line coupled with a “red flag,”  as such things can easily be overlooked. Speaking of which, make sure to…

Use an Effective Subject Line

Nothing’s more frustrating than searching through emails you can’t find because important information got buried in an unrelated email chain, or a single email chain has gone on so long it’s 20 pages and difficult to scroll through. Start off using a short, but descriptive subject line that summarizes your question or comment, like “Available for an Interview?” or “Lunch on Wednesday.” Try sticking to one subject per message, and re-title the email chain if you get off topic.

Use Proper Grammar, Capitalization and Spelling

IF YOU HAVEN’T NOTICED, USING ALL CAPS LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE SHOUTING (and using all lower-case can be viewed as unprofessional or lazy). An informal approach to language and style is typical for email, but being sloppy is not — so when writing to a client err on the side of traditional grammar, formatting and spelling (even when your colleagues are not being so careful).

Sign Off Smart

How you sign your name to an email can say something about the tone of the letter, and even something about your personality. Not every sign-off is appropriate for business and the same goes for your personal email, too.  You’d never sign “Love, Sarah” (not seriously, at least) to a colleague, nor does signing with “Sincerely” or “Best Regards” seem appropriate for friends or colleagues you work with everyday. When in doubt, go with a simple, “Best,” or, simply put your name or  initial.

Avoid Long Signature Stamps

Company logos and boiler plates are great for making introductions, but adding inspirational quotes or images to your signature can be tedious and a total waste of space. Images often get sent as attachments, and don’t render properly on the other end so it’s safe to assume your signature never appears properly for the receiver; and on top of that, it can confuse an email client’s search function when you’re trying to find legitimate attachments like photos or documents.  Traditional email etiquette dictates a signature of no more than four lines — and text only.

Not Too Short, Not Too Long

Avoid one-letter or word emails like “K,” “ok” or “Fine.” They can come across as lazy or terse, or can send the wrong message.

At the same time, long-winded emails that are twice as long as they need to be to explain a situation or a screw-up at work, for example, can come across as overly defensive or belaboring a point. If there’s more to say to your boss than a simple, “I’m running late for today’s meeting, hopefully no more than 5 minutes. My apologies” — save it for in-person.  Then again, if you make a habit of being late and it’s an important meeting, you may need to say more.

Be Nicer Than Usual

Emails, texts and chat platforms are convenient, but words often get distorted. Something like, “Yeah, sure” could be interpreted as “uh huh. buzz off.”  Without a facial expression and tone of voice to go with it, words can be taken out of context and “jokes” — particularly sarcasm — should be treated with extra special care. If there are two ways to read your message, more often than not you can bet the person will take it the wrong way!  Similarly, for feedback, people often take constructive criticism in a more negative light than it was intended… and so while still being direct, try to sandwich your comments with a few positive statements to soften any blows.

Know When to Tell the Truth… and When to Stretch It

Though honesty is the best policy in most areas of life, business professor Alison Fragale at the University of North Carolina says it’s not always the best practice when dealing with clients or investors.

Take for example this email:  “Our preparations went long this morning, it seems we’re running behind. We’ll be at your offices 5 minutes later than expected. Apologies”

Though this may seem like a positive spin on the fact you’re running late to a meeting (perhaps, you think, the client will see how enthusiastic and invested you are in their project), it might send the message that you can’t handle time management. “The mechanism we find in our research is that when you lie [to a business associate] they don’t like the fact that you lied, but they can usually appreciate the reason that you lied. And the reason that you lied is that you probably care what they think about you.” In that case, she says, just keep it simple.  “You might just say you’re held up in traffic,” says Fragale.

Know When NOT to Email

Don’t avoid uncomfortable situations or cover up mistakes by using email as a crutch. There are just some things better said or explained in person, and you can save yourself a lot of time by recognizing when a situation calls for a walk over to someone’s desk or a quick phone call instead. When explaining something confusing or emotional, it’s always best discussed face-to-face, (e.g., if you’ll be taking responsibility for an error, making an apology, or discussing anything that involves personal or sensitive information.) Particularly skip email when it’s a time-sensitive matter, such as when you need to solve a problem or find an answer quickly.  “I never heard back from them” or “I was waiting for an email response” is rarely an excuse for letting something fall through the cracks.

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