The advancement of technology over the years has no doubt revolutionalized our world:especially the corporate world.
Gone are the days when you had to be on your desk to receive an e-mail, or worse still visit a local cafe to catch up on your inbox.
We now live in an " on the go society" where you can catch up with anything and everything at anytime, anywhere, e-mails especially.
A number of us were schooled in the art of letter writing, which used to be one of the predominant means of communication many years ago, so it's no surprise that when the world of emails came to take it's rightful place, it caught us napping.
The workplace is a small community on it's own and its important you learn the rules of engagement before you become that person everybody wants nothing to do with.
As niggling as it may seem, e-mails amongst every other thing have the power to Make or Mar your career. "People meet you before meeting you". Your emails create an impression about you even before getting to know the real you. So there's need to make sure you're sending the right substance across each time.
Below are essentials you must consider before you click that send button.
Your mail title must be sharp and concise. Often times people decide whether or not to open an email based on the title. The title of your mail must give the recipient a very good idea of the contents of your mail. Both of which must correspond.
Don't ever send mail in caps. (Capital letters ). It's rude, it's shouty and definitely not acceptable.
When replying a mail, use the "reply all" button cautiously. Only copy those who need to be in the know. People have a lot to deal with on a daily bases, don't add your irrelevant mails to them. May I also add that people who are in the habit of replying everyone regardless of if they should be in the know or not come of as "unintelligent & socially dull"
When greeting, it's best practice to use "Hello, Hi, Good Morning or Good Afternoon " . Avoid using "Dear "
Ensure your mails are in line with the standard or acceptable signature in your organization. E.g
There's no one way of creating a mail signature, however your signature must display your name ( i. e who the mail is originating from), your designation, your phone number, address , name of the organization you work with and in most cases the logo.
Don't abbreviate when sending mails in the workplace. An e-mail is not the same as a text message. Always type your messages in full, you never can tell who is going to see them.
Don't respond to a mail when angry. It's best to sit on it for 24hours before responding. That way you're such it's your brain/common sense doing the talking not your emotions.
Ignoring mails is not just an act of plain rudeness, it makes you come of as irresponsible. Even if the mail was sent in error and wasn't meant for you, be nice enough to say that in your response and if possibly put the right person (If you know who that is ) in copy
Proofread your mails before sending them out. Don't rely on spell checkers alone. Remember each mail you send says something about you. If your mails are filled with grammatical or spelling errors, you might make people begin to wonder about how you got the job in the first place.
Put the recipients mail address last just in case you erroneously click the send button before you're done
The list is endless and there's need to constantly educate yourself on what's acceptable and what is not.
Remember there's no second chance to make a good first impression .
Do you know of more e-mail etiquettes? Please share.
Eyitemi Adebowale
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