Most grown adults today think they know how to use email, yet how many times have you received an email that was too long, too short, too rude, didn’t get to the point, didn’t manage expectations, or didn’t make sense? To write an email that not only communicates well but makes you look smart and sophisticated, I recommend the following etiquette:
1. Use Subject Lines Effectively. If you can use them alone, that works great (e.g. “Monthly Status Report – Please see attached (Please review by Friday end of the day)” or “Team – please complete your time card by COB Today. Thank you!! <no further text>”
2. Open and Close Pleasantly. I usually start my emails with something nice, like “I hope you’re well.”, “Happy Friday”, or “It was great talking with you earlier.” It shows that you are polite, kind, and not just someone who launches straight into business. I try to close positively as well because I want to leave the reader with a positive human impression.
3. Be Upfront – After your nice opening, the next thing should be why you are sending the email. Often people have to process hundreds of emails at a time, so be kind to them and let them know upfront what you want or need. Don’t bury it in paragraph four.
3. No Anger or Sarcasm – Never send an angry, snarky, or sarcastic email. You can write it, stew on it, scream into a pillow about it, punch a speed bag a few hundred times while reading it on your mobile device, but for your own sake DO NOT send it. Angry or snarky emails never reflect well on the sender, and if you send it to a wider audience, you’ve created a negative impression of yourself to the entire email audience.
4. Send Good Emails – Always send emails that are polite, diplomatic, neutral, objective, and not overly flowery (I have struggled with the last one over the years). For some people, the only impression of you is what they see in email. You can never go wrong looking nice in email.
5. Use Good Language – Check your email for spelling, complete sentences, and well-expressed ideas. You want your audience focused on your message, not distracted by spelling errors, incomplete sentences, and incoherent ideas and concepts.
6. Read It One More Time – Before hitting the SEND button to others, do one, or three, final reviews speaking the text aloud to yourself. Be sure that your email says what you want it to say, but more importantly that it is said in a great way. When in doubt, have someone else look at your email, especially if it’s important.
7. Always Assume Good Will – When you use email you lose about 93% of the communication tone, so it’s very easy to misinterpret. Be patient and don’t lash out because someone responded with what seems to be an angry or snarky tone – or a one-word response. Always assume that the other person had the best intentions when they sent that response. It will help you in your follow up communication with them. Besides, you can always ask for clarification later.
8. Be complete – Avoid single-word or other short responses that can be misinterpreted. Instead, use complete phrases, sentences, and thoughts.
9. Remember Your Reflection – How you communicate in email is a reflection of you, your image, your personality, and your intellect. Treat it as such.
10. Keep it Brief (unlike this post) – Avoid using email for sending lengthy communications if at all possible. If you have that much to say, it’s probably better said in person or over the phone.
11. DON’T USE ALL CAPS – It looks like you’re shouting, and it doesn’t reflect well on you. If you need to EMPHASIZE a word for effect, then I suggest using it sparingly and not in every email you send. Using ALL CAPS makes people uncomfortable and can put them on the defensive. We live in a hyper-sensitive world, so avoid this kind of micro-aggression. If you need a safer way to emphasize words, then use italics.
12. Use Plain Language – People respond well to people they easily understand. When I would write sales proposals I was taught that you should write at about an 8th or 9th-grade reading level. Steer clear of undefined acronyms, industry jargon, or overly technical language unless that is a shorthand that your audience will appreciate. And also try not to use “text speak” in email unless it is someone you are very familiar with.
13. Emoji’s – I minimize my use of emoji’s in email to those that I can use in text such as these: :), :(, ;), or : /. The more flowery the emojis, the less seriously people will take you. And you want to be seen as someone who is smart, sophisticated, current, and capable, but also as someone who is approachable.
14. The Best Communication – The best form of communication is not email or any text-based communication at all. If something takes more than 3 emails to resolve, you need to actually talk to someone about it, except in cases where you need to maintain a written record of the conversation. The best forms of communication, in order:
- In person
- Video conference
- Phone call
- Text or Email
Text and Email are tied for last place, because you lose body language and vocal inflection in electronic, text-based communications. One exception is hand-written notes and letters. They are a lost art form, and probably as effective as in-person communication.
Example Business Email:
Subject Line: For Your Review: Monthly Status Report for October 20xx, (Please review by Date (MM/DD/YY))
Ellen,
I hope you’re well today. Attached please find the Monthly Status Report for your review. If I can get your comments by close of business, Date (MM/DD/YY), that will allow me time to process your comments and send the report to the customer.
Thank you so much for your help and hard work.
Very best,
Justin
Let’s highlight some observations about this email:
- Effective use of the subject line
- Use of the person’s name
- The opening pleasantry
- The immediate “ask”
- A definite date when a response is needed
- The impact of the person’s response (i.e., It would allow me time to process the status report, and send to the customer)
- The closing pleasantry
- Closing salutation
- The name (and email signature if you have one)
- The email was short, succinct, and to the point
The fact that email has been in use for 50+ years, speaks to its long-term utility. So until we crack the code on long range mental telepathy, Email will probably be with us for some time. Hopefully, the advice above will remind us all to continuously stay on top of our game with the most seemingly mundane forms of communication.
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