E-Mail Etiquette
- Be concise.
- Use short paragraphs. Separate ideas with bullets.
- Use the To, CC (Carbon Copy), and BC (Blind Copy) boxes to direct a single message to any number of recipients. In doing so it indicates the response you expect from each recipient.
- Use the To box to address the primary recipients of your item.
- Use the CC box to address recipients who have an interest in the content, or may require public notification of information, but are not expected to act upon it.
- Use the BC box to address recipients who have an interest in the content, but prefer to remain anonymous to the other recipients. Everyone who receives your item will be able to see a list of all the primary and carbon copy recipients, but will not see a list of the blind copy recipients.
- Generally avoid "reply to all" to messages. Most people do not need to have a copy of every reply to every iteration of the same message. Consider that external recipients may be part of the distribution.
- Proofread the distribution list carefully before you click "send." Is it the list you really intended?
- Do not send messages with blank subject lines. Messages with no subject are likely to be treated as junk mail.
- Delete spam, jokes and chain letters. Do not forward spam, jokes and chain letters.
- Be careful when typing in capital letters. Capital letters are interpreted as yelling.
- Limit attaching large and multiple files and graphics. Where attachments are necessary, compress them before sending.
- Never send e-mail when angry. Type it, then save it to a folder. After you are calm, reread it, edit and then send.
- Keep e-mails constructive in substance and professional in tone. Treat people with the same courtesy and respect in e-mail as you would do face-to-face.
- Do not use e-mail as a replacement for face-to-face conversation.
- Write in a factual style, avoiding verbiage that can be misconstrued. E-mail is one-directional. The recipient cannot "hear" your intonation. You cannot see their facial expressions as your message is being read.
- Guard against sending e-mail that can be taken out of context or that contains confidential, internal information. E-mail is easily forwarded and copied. Once it leaves your account, an e-mail can take on a "life of its own."
- Do not use slang or idioms that could be misunderstood outside your region or country.
From: "Sample E-Mail Etiquette Guidelines," Inside GartnerGroup This Week, date unknown, p. 6.
