Commentary: Pay attention to your e-mail etiquette

Daily Record and the Kansas City Daily News-Press, Oct 1, 2004 by Doug Washington

As we are reminded every day by our overflowing inboxes, a great deal of business-related communication happens through email. Although email is often thought of as somewhat informal, it is important to keep a professional image when corresponding with clients or co-workers. These simple guidelines for e-mail etiquette will ensure that your e-mail messages are clear, concise and complete.

* Read your message before sending it. Check clarity, spelling, grammar and punctuation.

* For business correspondence, leave out fancy fonts, colors and smiley faces.

* The structure should make your message easy to read. Use short paragraphs with blank lines in between, avoid long sentences and number or mark specific points.

* Keep in mind that formatting (bold, italics, indents) may appear differently to the recipient.

* Avoid sarcasm, using all capitals that appear as shouting and abbreviations with which the recipient may not be familiar. Use gender neutral language.

* If you are concerned the recipient may misunderstand your message, talk in person.

* Manage your inbox efficiently. Try to respond to messages in one business day. If an e-mail is complicated, confirm that you have received the message and need some time to reply.

* Avoid constantly checking your email. It is often unnecessary and will only waste time.

* Provide enough information in your message and when replying, answer all questions thoroughly. Try to anticipate further questions and offer extra information the recipient may also need.

* When replying, it can be helpful to keep the thread, or the original message, because it can otherwise be difficult to remember all the necessary information.

* If there seems to be too much information, at least include the important sections of previous messages.

* Do not attach unnecessary files or forward chain letters.

* Do not overuse the high priority option. People will begin to ignore it if you always mark your messages as high priority.

* Use care when replying to all. Make sure to check whether it is necessary for each person to receive your reply before sending your message to the whole group.

* When emailing a large number of people, use the Bcc: field, rather than placing all the addresses in the To: field. By entering the addresses into the Bcc: field, the recipients will not know that you have sent your message to a large group and they will not have access to everyone else's email addresses.

* Do not discuss confidential information or offensive topics over e-mail.

* Do not reply to spam mail or try to unsubscribe. This only confirms that your e-mail address is live. Instead, delete the e- mail or use software that can remove spam automatically.

* Add an e-mail signature to the end of your messages to let the recipient know who you are and alternate ways to contact you, such as a phone or fax number. They are usually 4 to 7 lines. Many mailers add e-mail signatures automatically.

* Consider using an e-mail disclaimer to protect your company from liability. An e-mail disclaimer is most effective and efficient when entered at the end of a message. It can be used in both internal and external emails and address the issues of viruses, offensive content, and breach of confidentiality.

* It is important to establish an e-mail policy with guidelines on writing e-mails and using your e-mail system. The policy should also prohibit inappropriate subject matter and warn of risks.

Doug Washington is the vice-president of Versent, The Purple Guys. He can be reached at (816) 221-3900.