e-Mail Etiquette

C Devidasan
Knowledge Disseminator|
Consultant|Trainer

Dos and Donts

Greet the person properly. If the e-mail is formal, use Dear Ms/Mr/Ms or
Mrs along with their last name.
Formal e-mails starts with the greeting followed with a colon and
not a coma! Commas indicates an informal relationship, typical of a
friendly letter. You can be less formal after you have received the
reply and then you may use a coma. How a person sings his mail
gives you an indication as to whether you should maintain a strictly
formal or a less formal relationship with him/her.
Using Hello is professional and friendly and is considered
appropriate and alright when you address someone you have known or
associated for a while.
Hi is conversational and casual and more often used with the
people with whom you normally communicate.
Avoid using Hey. It is slang and should not be used in a professional relationship under
any circumstances.

Some mails written by employees to HR

Infosys, Bangalore: An employee applied for leave as follows:

"Since I have to go to my village to sell my land along with my wife,

please sanction me one-week leave..."
This is from Oracle Bangalore: From an employee who was performing the
Mundan" ceremony of his 10 year old son:
"As I want to shave my son's head, please leave me for two days...
Another gem from CDAC. Leave-letter from an employee who was
performing his daughter's wedding:
"As I am marrying my daughter, please grant a week's leave...
From H.A.L. Administration Dept:
"As my mother-in-law has expired and I am only one responsible
for
it, please grant me 10 days leave."

Dos and Donts. Contd

CONTENT
Keeping the content precise and correct would do great help in
understanding your content by the recipient
Keep your formatting simple, Always be friendly, respectful and
approachable,
Ensure that your message is not offensive, not curt and demanding,
the tone of your e-mail should be positive,
Always put your important information on the top, keep your message to the point and
brief, try to focus on one topic,
If you have several items to communicate, use bullets,
Use appropriate subject line. This will find it easy for you as well as the recipient to
locate mail at a later stage

Dos and Donts. Contd

Remind people who you are if you had met the person only briefly,
Be sure that e-mail is used for business. E-mail should not be used for gossiping
and do not use your personal e-mail id for business purposes,
Dont underline words of information as it can be mistaken for hyperlink .
If you have received an-email which you believe is a hoax, do not simply
forward it to your friends, etc., as this could be dangerous as well. Try to find
out the genuinty of the message or ignore it.
When you send e-mail, do not forget to include no reply if you dont expect a
reply on the subject line,
It is a good idea to thank the messenger for the mail. This shows a sense of
courtesy and creates a positive beginning to your message which would be useful if
especially if your message is perceived negative,

Dos and Donts. Contd

When you reply an e-mail, it is necessary to keep the original message below
as it will allow the reader as well as the replier to correlate the contents. This
helps very much as the time goes by.
Remove multiple addresses of numerous people especially if they are large and
sent to a group,
Many a time we get just a liner, Okey or Thanks for e-mails you have taken
time to structure and sent it. This is a dampener. Take time to read and reply
appropriately. If you are busy, write to the sender, I acknowledge your mail. Would
write to you a detailed mail shortly as I am now tied up.
Close e-mails in a positive manner, use Best wishes, Have a great day ahead.
Or simply, Thanks They are considered causal, appropriate and suitable for the
people whom you are in touch with regularly.

Dos and Donts. Contd

If your message is formal, use, Sincerely, Kind or Best Regards, Thank you,
or Many thanks
If you are out of office for more than a day or two, consider using the tab in the
outlook, out office Leave the phone number and email of a colleague or a person
whom you would like the sender to contact in your absence,
Do not use Auto responder which says, I have received your mail and I would get back to
you later, as this will only clutter the senders inbox.
If you are inviting a person for a meeting or function, do not forget to give all relevant
information like, venue, duration, date other than the exact nature of the meeting
function. When you cancel a meeting in the last minute, call instead of sending an e-mail.

Dos and Donts. Contd

Sometimes, we use an old e-mail to contact a specific person on a different topic.
When you do so, do change the subject matter and do not forget to erase the old
message,
Sometimes, we use an old e-mail to contact a specific person on a different topic.
When you do so, do change the subject matter and do not forget to erase the old
message,
Response time to e-mail is critical and it impacts everyone. In general, you should
reply as quickly as possible and no longer than 24 to 48 hours after receiving the
message. If you are unable to do this, you may consider acknowledging it and designate
a time frame in responding.

Dos and Donts. Contd

If you need any information urgently, consider calling that person. Do not call the
recipient shortly after he has sent the e-mail as it can be annoying. If the e-mail is urgent,
mention it in the message.
e-mail system is an important communication tool that allows you to reflect your
professionalism and helps you to leave a lasting impression. Follow these guideless as you
build your lasting relationships.

Exercise CAUTION before finally sending

Some precautions:

Dos and Donts. Contd

Give it your undivided attention. Avoid multitasking when responding to
important or sensitive messages. If you can't respond right away, let the person
know when they can expect to hear back. Then, compose the e-mail when you're
free of distractions.
Save the distribution list for last. When writing a confidential or sensitive
message, wait until it is complete before carefully selecting the recipients. This
will help you avoid sending out an incomplete thought or selecting the wrong
individuals.
Take care with those you copy. Think twice before hitting "reply all," and only
copy people who need to be in on the conversation.

Dos and Donts. Contd

Review it on a big screen. E-mailing using handheld devices with small screens and
keyboards may increase the likelihood of typos and other mistakes. When sending an
important e-mail, it can be helpful to view it on a full-size computer screen or use spellcheck before transmitting.
Check attachments. Insert any documents - and confirm that they're the right
ones - as soon as you refer to them in the memo.
Don't hit "send" when you're seething. E-mailing when you're angry is never a good idea.
Give yourself time to cool down before responding. It may be better to speak in person.
Keep it professional. Bear in mind that electronic messages can easily be forwarded and
employee e-mails may be monitored. Avoid saying anything unkind or unprofessional .

Action Plan
Three things that you will do differently from now on
Reflect after three months
Share with colleagues the changed experience

C Devidasan
email: c.devidasan@carvingtalent.in
Handset: 9811433030

D 33, Lovely Apartment, Mayur Vihar Phase I, Delhi 100091

www.carvingtalent.in

email: info@carvingtalent.in