Business E-mail Etiquette: The One Thing That Matters

Hope everyone is gearing up for a busy and prosperous New Year! Regardless of the economy and all the crazy stuff going on, remember, your future is in your control to control. I’m a “glass half full” kind of gal — so when the going get’s tough — I look at that as a challenge — which is what the year ahead will be for all of us.

And one thing you can control is how you use e-mail for commercial gain.

At the beginning of each year I am contacted by reporters writing “resolution” articles. They contact me in December and throughout January to help them with the issues they deal with and want to pass on to their readers. And, I am always available to be of service and lend my perspective.

The one question that kept coming up this year was:

“If there is one thing that business e-mailers need to consider that matters above all the other tips you offer at BusinessEmailEtiquette.com, what would that be?”

And my answer? To take your time!

• Take your time creating an apropos Subject:.
• Take your time to include a personal greeting that reflects the proper level of formality.
• Take your time to review your message and ensure it relays the necessary intent and tone.
• Take your time to make sure your message is typo free and integrates proper sentence structure and grammar.
• Take your time to have an courteous closing that reflects the formality of the e-mail and your name properly typed.
• Take your time to make sure your signature file is short, sweet and typo free.
• Take your time to respond to e-mails as promptly as possible.

I could go on… But you get the idea! The primary reason otherwise educated and credible professionals are not taken as seriously as they would like is because the don’t take their time when composing their business e-mail communications.

Taking your time is time well spent!

Business E-mail Signature File Legal Statements

A site visitor writes:

I’m looking specifically for guidance regarding disclaimers which I’ve seen after a signature file. These generally include 2-3 lines about ensuring that the email is received only by the intended recipient and sometimes a bit about virus protection being the responsibility of the recipient.

The virus statements are sometimes appended by the sender’s virus software as the e-mail is being sent. I get a kick out of the statements that infer that if their e-mail contains a virus they are not responsible.

As far as the other disclaimer statements, those are just company’s and individuals trying to CYA (cover their butt). There is a Web site out there that covers the legal aspects of e-mail and disclaimers. They state right on their site:

“There is no disclaimer that can protect against actual libelous or defamatory content. The most a disclaimer can accomplish in this respect is to reduce the responsibility of the company, since it can prove that the company has acted responsibly and done everything in its power to stop employees from committing these offenses.”

http://www.emaildisclaimers.com

But the bottom line is, if an e-mail goes to the wrong person–whose fault is that? The Sender’s for sending to the wrong address by not paying attention. If someone forwards an e-mail to a third party without the sender’s permission, which folks do all the time, that it a copyright issue and they can remove the disclaimer easily anyway.

I have an article that covers online copyright issues–which is what those disclaimers are pretty much trying to facilitate that you may find helpful:

Copyright Refresher.

Business E-mail Bullies

A site visitor writes:

Could you please evaluate this message. The person that sends this states it means nothing to have the ???, !!! and cap letters, but he continues to do it.

John:
Please send the updated spreadsheet for this project????????
Send this document – NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The first sentence doesn’t even warrant one question mark let alone multiple instances. If having multiple exclamation points or questions marks “means nothing”, then why he is communicating in this manner? The fact is doing so does reflect tone — that of one making a strong demand!

There are many folks who refuse to realize the power of their written words, the corresponding punctuation and the ramifications of how they choose to use them. This certainly does not mean that the perceptions they are presenting, or the emotions they are insinuating are not there. They are!

Your associate is either simply showing their lack of online savvy or they know exactly how they are being perceived and do not have the nerve to admit it when confronted. By typing in caps, and by using !!!! or ??? he is typing to you with an overly aggressive and condescending tone. He comes off as a bully and not very professional. If that is what he meant, fine. If not, basic punctuation would have sufficed.

Using multiple exclamation points or question marks is covered on my day-to-day E-mail Etiquette site:

http://www.netmanners.com/courtesy3.html

I also cover formatting, capping and punctuation issues from a business POV here on this site.

One of the top skills in any successful business career is to be able to communicate with professionalism, courtesy and clarity. Redundant punctuation and yelling at recipients is the sign of an amateur bully.

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