Keeping Your Foot out of Your Virtual Mouth
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Email Etiquette: Keeping Your Foot Out of Your Virtual Mouth Cecelia Munzenmaier Presented to IABC–Iowa Chapter November 1, 2006
Notes
The complete presentation and this handout are available at http:word-crafter.net/email.html I. Email has unique features: A. Etiquette is still evolving. B. Nonverbal cues are missing. 1. Nonverbals communicate 65–93 percent of meaning. 2. Mild displeasure can seem like an attack. 3. Short messages can seem curt. C. Tone becomes crucial. 1. Avoid terseness, which can be misinterpreted. 2. Use face-to-face communication for sensitive issues. 3. Read your emails aloud, looking for ambiguities. 4. Avoid humor and sarcasm. a. People “were able to accurately communicate humor and sarcasm in barely half—56 percent— of the emails they sent” (Dobson, 2006)1. b. Limited use of emoticons to signal humor is OK. D. Email is comparable to business casual dress. 1. Most consider email more formal than a phone call and less formal than a letter. 2. When in doubt, err toward formality. E. Email is electronic. 1. Hit Send and it’s gone. 2. Hit Reply All and your career may be gone. 3. Deleted emails live on. 4. Emails can be forwarded without your knowledge or consent. 5. “Electronic” does not mean “instant.”
F. Email encourages rudeness. 1. We forget that real people read our messages. 2. Its format encourages abruptness.
1 Dobson, L. (2006). Avoiding email catastrophes. Available at http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20060405-000001.html
The complete presentation and this handout are available at http:word-crafter.net/email.html II. Understand how to use each part of an email. A. In the Address lines: 1. Send the message only to those who need to know. 2. If you’re furious, leave the To: line blank. 3. If doing a mass mailing, paste addresses in the BCC line to keep them private. 4. Be aware that BCCs within an organization can create distrust. 5. Choose a professional screen name. B. In the Subject line: 1. Be specific. 2. Put most important words first. 3. Create a new email for each topic. 4. Keep track of threads. C. In the Body: 1. Focus on what you want to happen because of this message. 2. Use a greeting. 3. Structure your message for easy reading by using. a. headlines b. bullets c. numbers 4. If a message is longer than 3 screens, send an attachment. 5. Keep the style “somewhere between stuffed shirt and T-shirt” (Booher, 2006).2 6. Avoid brusqueness.
D. In the Closing: 1. Match the formality of the greeting. 2. Use a signature line with your name and contact information. 3. Remember that a P.S. is easy to miss.
E. Pay attention to the fine points: 1. Use a greeting. 2. Use a closing. 3. Send an email thank-you to interviewers. 4. Communicate bad news or sensitive information face-to-face. 5. Ask if it’s OK to send attachments. 6. Request permission before forwarding. 7. Be thoughtful.
2 Booher, D. (2006). Five tips for email excellence. Available at http://www.patronsaintpr.com/samples/Booher/21C.htm
The complete presentation and this handout are available at http:word-crafter.net/email.html Tone
Example One
To: Female employees From: H. Honcho Re: Dress code Date: 1 July 2006
Clients will be visiting next week. Halter tops and jeans will not make the right impression. It’s time you started dressing for the office instead of the beach. Leave your flip-flops at home!
Example Two
To: All staff From: H. Honcho Re: Reminder about what to wear to work Date: 1 July 2006
During the summer, our dress code is business casual. We think “business casual” means clothes that feel comfortable and look professional.
Men Women •khaki pants •casual pants and skirts •leather shoes ... •leather or fabric shoes ...
The complete presentation and this handout are available at http:word-crafter.net/email.html Level of Formality
Example One (Informal)
From: Bob Anderson
we need to setup a meeting bet. jim you and i -- can you arange?
i'm free next wed. thks.
Example Two (Formal)
Subject: MEETING ON FY86 PLANNING, 2PM, 12/28/84, CONFERENCE ROOM 1
There will be a meeting of the FY86 planning task force in Conference Room 1 on December 28, 1984 at 2pm.
The Agenda for the meeting is: ------Topic Presenter Time ------Strategic Business Plan John Fowles 30 min. Budget Forecast for FY86 Sue Martin 15 " New Product Announcements Peter Wilson 20 " Action Items for 1st Qtr FY86 Jane Adamson 25 "
The complete presentation and this handout are available at http:word-crafter.net/email.html Example Three (correctness still counts)
From: Name withheld to protect the guilty Date: October 12, 2006 To: Rhonda Abrams Subject: Purposal
I can beat almost anyones price and almost promise you success and if I don’t reach it,
we wont charge you after the time we say we can achieve it until we do.
The complete presentation and this handout are available at http:word-crafter.net/email.html Brief vs. Brusque
From: Bob Hopeful
Henry, your advice has been invaluable as I launch my career here at Big Corp. Would you recommend that I get an MBA?
Example One (brusque)
From: H. Honcho
No.
Bob Hopeful wrote: > Henry, your advice has been invaluable
Example Two (brief)
From: H. Honcho
No, Bob. Experience as a line manager would do more for your chances for promotion than an MBA.
Bob Hopeful wrote: > Henry, your advice has been invaluable
The complete presentation and this handout are available at http:word-crafter.net/email.html Recommended Resources A version with links is available at http://word-crafter.net/email.html
Email Etiquette Netiquette (by Virginia Shea, the “Miss Manners” of the Internet) http://www.albion.com/netiquette/index.html
Dianna Booher's “Five Tips for Email Excellence” http://www.patronsaintpr.com/samples/Booher/21C.htm
Business E-mail Basics (an overview from eManners expert Judith Kallos) http://www.netmanners.com/business-email-basics.html
Email Marketing Etiquette: The Good, the Bad, and the Clueless http://www.mailchimp.com/resources/emarketing_etiquette.phtml
Proof It! (advice from permission-based email expert K. Towner) http://www.wincommunications.com/BusinessBuilderDecember05.html
Business Email Etiquette: Maintaining a Professional Image (Lydia Ramsey) http://www.sideroad.com/Career_Advice/business-email-etiquette%20.html
Test Yourself Test Your Email IQ (can be used as an editing checklist) http://www.grammarphobia.com/email.html
Test Your Netiquette http://www.albion.com/netiquette/netiquiz.html
Netiquette Quiz (Judith Kallos) http://www.netmanners.com/netiquette_quiz.html
Email Productivity Writing Sensible Email Messages (43 folders) http://www.43folders.com/2005/09/19/writing-sensible-email-messages/
Email Etiquette (32 most important rules) http://www.emailreplies.com/#7structure
Email Marketing Tutorial http://website101.com/email_e-mail/email_marketing_basics.html
The complete presentation and this handout are available at http:word-crafter.net/email.html Books/Style Guides
Angell, David and Brent Heslop. Elements of E-mail Style: Communicate Effectively via Electronic Mail. New York: Addison-Wesley, 2002. In the spirit of Strunk and White, the authors cover everything from how to structure a long message to sentence rhythm and mechanics. Their treatment of how to add emphasis to messages without using HTML is especially helpful.
Booher, Dianna. E-Writing: 21st-Century Tools for Effective Communication. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2001. Booher, also known as “the Miss Manners of memos,” addresses everything from writing concise, effective emails to managing an overflowing inbox. Her clear organization and thorough explanations make the book useful both as a how-to guide and as a reference.
Kallos, Judith. Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Business E-Mail Etiquette [ebook]. Available at http://www.learnandthrive.com/pd_business_email.cfm Bad netiquette can be a deal-breaker, according to Kallos. Based on the author's coaching practice, this guide covers everything from attachment to corporate e-mail policies.
Lindsell-Roberts, Sheryl. Strategic Business Letters and E-Mail. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2004. Every piece of advice in this comprehensive guide is backed up by examples and illustrated by models.
O’Conner, Patricia T. and Stewart Kellerman. You Send Me: Getting It Right When You Write Online. New York: Harcourt, 2002. “Your typical e-mail is not a pretty sight,” according to the authors. They offer humorous, practical advice on how to adapt basic writing principles to the new medium of email. Approximately half the book is devoted to “Grammar à la Modem: A Crash Course.”
The complete presentation and this handout are available at http:word-crafter.net/email.html