Email Etiquette

Email Etiquette 101 - Or What You Shouldn't Do To Annoy the Pants Off Your Recipients!
By Nic Sim

Email has not been around for long. And that’s why I am not surprised to see that many people still make mistakes while emailing. I am sure they don’t do it intentionally but it still annoys others when they don’t ‘get’ it.

I believe a little email etiquette goes a long way. Here are some email basics which should be considered when you are using email:

1. Realise that if you are emailing huge files, please call or email the recipient first and alert him that you will be doing so. Do not bomb people’s Inbox with a file that is 10 Mb in size. It’s rude, yes, downright rude because that huge attachment itself will take a long time to download, particularly if the recipient uses an email client programme like Microsoft Outlook Express.

2. It is also rude not to put a salutation on the email. You may think it’s okay, after all the email is intended for the recipient but a “Dear (recipient’s name)” or “Hi (recipient’s name)” won’t take more than 2 seconds to type.

3. Do not put words you speak directly into your email. Especially if you tend to speak in short sentences. You will come across as curt and abrupt in your email. Read aloud your email and see if the words are jarring. If they are, it’s time to re-write!