Business E-mail and Choices

From the moment you get up in the morning; you make choices. What to wear, what to eat — what you have to do and when.

You also make choices when it comes to how you e-mail. Do you choose to be courteous? Do you choose to follow proper practices? Do you show consideration for the other side? Do you reflect an understanding of the very technology in which you are participating?

These are all choices you make every time you send an e-mail. You may make them subconsciously — while others consciously choose to ignore proper practices or make that extra effort to be courteous so they can be perceived favorably. Either way a choice is made.

Today I received an e-mail stating who did I think I was to tell people what to do? Who am I to dictate what anyone should do with their e-mails? I was surprised being I do this to help folks to better understand better how to use technology to succeed in their business — not to “tell them what to do.”

Some may not be aware that Netiquette (NETwork etIQUETTE) was around way before most were online. The original reference document on the topic of Netiquette can be found here: RFC1855 Dated 10/24/1995.

What I started doing at that same time was to begin coaching my consulting clientèle on the importance of proper use and practices to ensure they were perceived positively and professionally by virtue of their e-mail communications. I knew this would give them an edge over their competitors who made the choice to disregard or minimize this information.

From day one there were those who felt the need for this information was not necessary. I have clients that have been with me for 16 years who still e-mail like a gradeshooler. Uncle! All I can do is make the information available and then we are right back to where we started — choices!

Over the years, I’ve expounded on the original Netiquette guidelines and evolved them where necessary to meet the trends and issues I see onliners struggle with most. If I received a bunch of e-mails on the same dilemma, I write a post here. What I write about is based on my day-to-day experiences and on e-mails from site readers from this site and my every day E-mail Etiquette site, NetManners.com. Not to tell anyone what to do but to let them know they have choices in how they do things — in this case e-mailing for business.

The bottom line is we all make choices. And you do have a choice as to how you e-mail. Just don’t think that in doing what you want and disregarding the topics I cover on this site that there will not be negative ramifications when it comes to how you as a business professional is perceived. Make the choice to accept that fact as well.

If you have something you’ve searched for here and that you still have questions about or would like my point of view on, feel free to let me know by commenting below.

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