EMAIL ETIQUETTE

The importance of email in any sphere cannot be denied. With the induction of the facility of internet in different educational institutions, students can easily stay informed about the recent developments pertaining to academia. While instant texting or SMS messaging is emerging as popular means of internet communication, email is still preferred as the best source of formal communication. Therefore, learning effective email etiquettes are important to avoid undue troubles for the recipients, which may eventually create a bad impression. Some of the email etiquettes mentioned below should be kept in consideration while drafting an email.

Like letter writing, criterion of formality should be reckoned while composing an email to someone who is superior or someone who does not know you. In that case, including a meaningful subject will help to clarify what the message is about. It may also help the recipient to prioritize reading your email. Make sure to start your email with a prefix and greeting, like ‘Dear Dr. A or Ms. B’. And most importantly, be sure to use standard spelling, punctuation and capitalization. Remember that there is nothing worse than an email composed in capital letters. It is advisable to write crisp, to the point and short paragraphs. In addition, be friendly, but don’t try to joke around, which may be inappropriate.

When you have exchanged emails with a person on a mutual subject, try to respond within the expected time frame. Trim back the old messages, as most people copy the older messages in the following emails. Furthermore, if someone asks a lot of questions, it is better to embed your answers into the sender’s message. If you are going to do this, ensure to mention it at the top, and leave enough space, for example:

l What is your flight number?

PK-778.

l When will your flight reach at the airport?

7:30 A.M.

l How long are you staying?

Only two days.

The type of information that is transmitted through email is an important aspect of email decorum. Many people simply ignore the fact that email is not as personal as it seems. If it is not encrypted by applying an advanced set up, chances are that your email could be read by an unwanted person. Therefore, make sure to never reveal your email password or any other account information under any circumstance to anyone. It is also important to log out of your account to hinder anyone’s accessibility into your emails.

The ease of transmitting many files to a particular person at a time makes email very attractive and handy. Attachment is also a crucial part of email messaging, but people often overstep the accepted etiquettes while emailing. As a result, their attachment gets little or no attention of the recipients. Always keep this in mind that the attachment should not be sent to someone with whom contact is being made for the very first time. The recipient might think that the received email is a spam or virus, and he will probably delete it.  However, it does not apply to someone who has requested a resume in a job advertisement. Furthermore, attachment should not contain files of large sizes, especially digital photos, which take too long to open. Downsizing a digital photo is a good option too. In case, sending a large file is necessary, the receiver should be informed in advance about the importance of sending such a file. The attachment file should also be scanned before emailing to someone for averting the possibility of virus.

Email is a standard and popular source of internet communication in today’s high-tech world. Learning and adopting the recommended etiquettes of email is imperative. They do not only help one in becoming a good email composer, but they also ensure a trouble-free and secure communication by warding off negative implications in the long run.