As a lot of you enter business schools and corporate offices, the most important tool of official communication - The E-Mail will become an integral part of your life. We have Image consultant Serena Rayani to help you know some basics.
24 tips to help you avoid making e-mail blunders.
1. Do not ‘Reply to all’ if it is a private conversation.
2. Write precise and to the point subject lines.
3. SPELL CHECK! SPELL CHECK! It takes two minutes.
4. Do not forward chain mails, prayers and hoaxes. E-mails cannot bring you luck but you could be sending a virus to someone’s computer.
5. Keep your e-mails short and precise.
6. DO NOT WRITE IN CAPS! It looks like you are shouting.
7. No SMS language, please. Not everybody knows the full form of TTYL, ROFL nor can everyone read ‘i wl c u 2m’
8. Acknowledge the receipt of an important mail and vice versa. All e-mail IDs have a Spam folder.
9. Always zip huge attachments.
10. Do not try to be funny or sarcastic in your e-mail. It may be misunderstood.
11. PUNCTUATION is extremely important. For example, “Let’s eat, Grandma!” and “Let’s eat Grandma!”
12. While sending a forward (non official), delete all the previous recipients, so a person is saved from scrolling through 400 e-mail IDs before getting to the main body.
13. It is generally considered polite to add a comment to the forwarded message.
14. Do NOT send or forward any unofficial e-mails from your office ID. It can have severe consequences.
15. If you are sending an e-mail to more than one person, put your e-mail ID in the ‘TO’ field, and the rest of the IDs in the ‘BCC’ field. Not doing so is a serious breach of privacy.
16. If someone has sent you a personal mail, and you wish to share it with the world, PLEASE ask for permission from the sender. Not doing so is, again, a serious breach of privacy and can get you into trouble.
17. If someone has sent you a personal mail, and you wish to share it with the world, PLEASE ask for permission from the sender. Not doing so is, again, a serious breach of privacy and can get you into trouble.
18. Do not use a Return Receipt Request for every e-mail you send. It is for urgent cases only, otherwise people are entitled to their privacy.
19. NEVER, EVER compose or reply to an e-mail when you are agitated. Calm down, edit the content multiple times and then send it. If you can’t manage, then get someone trustworthy to do it for you. REMEMBER, once the e-mail is sent, it is the final thing.
20. Poor sentence structure (upper case, lower case, spelling mistakes, punctuation, grammar) all reflect on your level of education and professionalism.
21. You may be extremely intelligent, but your hold on the English language could be weak. Never hesitate to ask for help or take classes. It could give you the upper edge where that promotion or crucial contract is concerned. An inflated ego gets you nowhere. No one is born perfect.
22. Write with clarity. Short, precise sentences and small paragraphs. Keep the paragraphs restricted to 4 (maximum).
23. If you are explaining something, short, precise, point form works best.
24. Refrain from using multiple ?????? or !!!!!!!!. They risk giving the perception that you are sarcastic, condescending and obnoxious.
This is a very helpful diagram created by Rajiv Kumar Luv that we found on the internet which you could use.
- Serena Rayani
(Serena is the Principal Image Consultant and owner of Serendipity Image Management Studio)
