The internet has radically changed the way we communicate. With it comes comes a new set of behaviors, expectations potentially sticky situations. The following is a brief list of
the Dos and Don'ts of email. Listen in on the rules of engagement for effective email communication.
Do use business letter writing basics. Use appropriate salutations, formatting and sign-off. Always err on the side of formality.
Don't make email too long. Be concise and to the point. It will be more valuable to the recipient and will elicit a better response.
Do not use multiple punctuation marks - like question, question, question. It comes across as emotional and irrational.
Don't consider email to be secure. Keep your personal comments and confidential matters for a private conversations. Consider where the email might end up.
Do be selective when CC'ing - ask yourself if others really need to be included?
Don't use BCC except for broadcast emailings such as newsletters etc... protecting the
privacy of everyone in the list, especially if they do not know each other.
Do take your time to respond to email, especially ones that might incite emotion. Savvy
emailers let their emails age several hours and often over night before they reread them
and send them on their way. Always ask yourself "How might this be interpreted by others?"
Don't not reply. Even if you can't help someone, let them know you are listening and
responsive.
Do be polite. Imagine that when you are speaking, you are speaking to a crowd of people. Your audience may be larger that you expect and your choice of words may easily offend.
Don't use email to discuss sensitive or embarrassing subjects. It might come back to bite you.
Do use humor sparingly. It the appropriate intonation associated with speech can be easily misinterpreted.
Don't mark all you correspondence as urgent. Ever hear of the little boy who cried wolf?
Do avoid read/delivery receipts. They are annoying and most recipients eventually learn to turn them off or not answer them.
Don't get into protracted email conversations. Decide ahead of time when you need to pick up the phone.
Do sensitive about relationships you have with your recipients and their relationships with one another. Are you sending a request to a colleague and their boss giving the impression that putting the squeeze on them? There's a time and a place for that.
Do use case appropriately. Using upper case letters (all caps) comes across as if you are YELLING! Do you want to be yelled at?
Finally, Do keep your missives and quips to a minimum. They can be fertile ground for miscommunication, unpleasantries and worst yet, legal action. Consider the following email related legal cases compiled by CNN:
# a Massachusetts class-action suit over the dangers of the diet drug combination
Phen-Fen, the court allowed this e-mail from a company executive to be admitted: "Do I
have to look forward to spending my waning years writing checks to fat people worried
about a silly lung problem?"
# Chevron settled a lawsuit for $2.2 million that involved an interoffice e-mail giving 25
reasons why beer is better than women.
# Former star investment banker Frank Quattrone was convicted of obstructing federal
investigations into stock offerings at Credit Suisse First Boston. Central to the case was
an e-mail Quattrone forwarded telling employees it was "time to clean up those files"
after he learned of the investigation.
# More than 500 of former West Virginia Gov. Bob Wise's intimate e-mails with a state
employee were obtained under the Freedom of Information Act and made public in 2003. The employee's husband filed for divorce and Wise didn't seek re-election in 2004.
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