Email Etiquette

What is email etiquette?

Email etiquette refers to a set of recommendations by business and communication experts in because of the growing concern that people are not using their email effectively or appropriately.

Since email is a major tool of virtual communication, many people communicate in their email messages the same way they do in text messaging or chat rooms: with informality and sometimes too much aggression. Email etiquette offers some guidelines that all writers can use to communicate between themselves and their readers.

One overall point to remember is that an email message does not have non-verbal expression to supplement what we are "saying." Most of the time we make judgments about a person’s motives and intentions based on their tone of voice, gestures, and their proximity to us. When those are absent it becomes more difficult to figure out what the message sender means. It is much easier to offend or hurt someone in email and that is why it is important to be as clear and concise as possible. N.B. While "emoticons" are a good way to overcome this problem in informal communication, they may not be appropriate in more formal academic or professional situations--e.g., in email to your teacher. If your relationship is more casual, then using the symbols is fine. If your relationship is more formal, then it is best to refrain from using them.

How do I know if I am using the correct etiquette?

There are a number of things to consider before clicking the "send" button on your email.

• How should I format my email?
• To whom am I sending my email?
• Can I send attachments?
• How long should my email be?
• Am I flaming someone? (And what does "flaming" mean?)
• When should I not send an email?

How should I format my email?

You are most likely familiar with the general rules about formatting email but here are some tips to keep in mind.

• Try to keep the email brief (preferably to one page) so that readers do not have to scroll. ***
• Return emails in the same day that you would a phone call.
• Use capitalization and punctuation in the same way that you would in any other document.
• Format your email to be sent in plain text rather than HTML because some email clients may not read HTML.
• Write a salutation or greeting for each new subject email. *** However, if you exchange several emails over the same topic (for example, a meeting day and time) it is not necessary to include a greeting because it is as though you are carrying on a conversation. When we carry on conversations, we do not say hello each time we speak.
• Be sure to write an appropriate and specific subject in the subject line so that the recipient knows what to expect. For example: Your Name, Your Student #, Your Course, Your Section, Subject of Email.

To whom am I sending my email?

It is always important to know who will receive your email, including the number of people you have on the mailing list. This helps you in two ways. First, it helps you think about the tone of your writing (see our handout on Tone in Business Writing for more information).

For example, while you still want to follow the traditional rules of writing, emails that you send to your employer or professor may be more formal and brief than to a colleague or classmate. You will need to decide whether you need to use a person’s title or if writing the first name is appropriate.

Second, if you send an email to more than four people regularly you should create mailing groups so that the recipients do not need to scroll through names before they can get to the content of the email. It also helps to keep some email addresses anonymous, as some perceive it as rude for their names and email addresses to be posted for strangers to see.

You will need to talk with the technical support in your office or use the "help" option on your computer if you do not know how to create a mailing group. A mailing group is a list of email addresses assigned to one name (like, newfaculty@uob.edu.bh). You want to use names that make sense to you so that you can remember them. This is especially helpful when you are managing several mailing group lists.

Emails are public documents, despite the fact that you may send an email to someone privately. Therefore, only include those statements in email that you can openly defend should your message be circulated or shown to other parties. 

Can I send attachments?

Yes, as long as you are sure that your recipient can receive them. Sending attachments is a normal practice when you are submitting documents for review or exchanging information in the workplace. Here are some tips to consider before attaching a document.

• Title the document that you are attaching in a way that is easy for the recipient to find once he or she downloads it to his or her files.
  For example, if you are sending a document that is a goal statement then title it "goalstatement.doc."
• In the content of your email, tell your recipient what type of software was used to create the document, the year/version, and the title of the attachment.
  For example: "The file attached is called ‘goalstatement.doc’ and it is in MSWord 2000."
• Make sure that you do not send overly large attachments unless you are sure that your recipient's Internet connection and email client can handle them. For example, a user on a 56K dialup would have to spend a long time downloading a 5M PowerPoint file, whereas a co-worker on a fast work connection would have no problem.
• Don't send unnecessary attachments -- if you've already presented all of the relevant information in an email message, don't attach a Word document repeating the same information. Don't write short messages in attachments as it takes time to open them. Do use attachments if requested to do so.

How long should my email be?

In general, the email should be approximately one page printed or the length of your computer screen before scrolling. However, there are times when email messages need to be longer to convey important information. Oftentimes organizations seeking to reduce their paper costs will use email as their primary source of communication. Longer emails generally consist of: Orientation schedules and information, memos, convention information, newsletters, and policy changes.

When you need to write a long email try to include three essential elements at the top of the email: (a) an executive summary at the top of the document, (b) how soon a response is required from the recipient(s), and (c) a table of contents.

An executive summary

This is a short summary of everything in the email document including the main goal of the email or the "bottom line." *

For example: "Welcome to English for IT. This email contains important information about the course and Web site. Here you will find the course description, assignment page, and numerous resources."

Required response

Because your reader is most likely going to read the first few lines of your document thoroughly and browse through the rest, if you need to have him or her respond by a certain time with certain information, that should be stated within the executive summary.

For example: "Please let me know by 25/09 if you will be joining the class."

Am I flaming someone? (And what does "flaming" mean?)

Flaming is a virtual term for venting emotion online or sending inflammatory emails. * It is best to avoid flaming because it tends to create more conflict and tension. Flames are virtual spats and are unproductive and even harmful to the people involved.

What you say cannot be taken back. Misinterpretations happen very easily in neutral emails because of that lack of nonverbal expression to cue the recipient about your motives and intentions. You can imagine how much misinterpretation can occur when you are expressing frustration and/or anger.

Things to consider before venting in email:

• Would I say this to this person’s face?
• Am I putting the receiver in awkward position?
• How would I feel if I got this email message?

Usually, by the time you consider the above questions you will be calm enough to write your message with a different approach. Catching someone by surprise in a flaming message is a quick way to alienate your reader mainly because they will react with anger or embarrassment.

Below are some examples of flaming messages and then some suggestions on ways to re-word them in more sensitive and thoughtful ways.