Email Etiquette in the Business Environment

E-mail etiquette is often overlooked despite the fact that it plays an important role in conveying a professional image.

E-mails written to friends and family will be less formal and will not need to follow any particular guidelines or rules, but when writing to someone at a professional level the following guidelines and rules should be taken in to account.

1. If you do not have an e-mail address that is business like, please create one, fear it will be to your detriment. Addresses such as ‘sexy girl, star girl, wifey, saved and sanctified’ are considered to be inappropriate. Your name is most appropriate to be used in creating an e-mail address.

2.      With reference to the example above:

             a.       use a descriptive subject line; avoid leaving it blank or putting an 

                   irrelevant or general subject. Ensure that the subject is appropriate.

            b.        Address the recipient by name to add a personal touch to your letter 

                   and be sure to indicate the purpose of the e-mail.

            c.       DO NOT USE ALL CAPS!      

            d.      Avoid over using punctuation marks!!!!!!

            e.      Avoid using abbreviations such as 

                  IMHO (in my humble opinion) or TTYL 

                  (talk to you later), not even if you 

                  are familiar with the email recipient. 

           f.       Skip a line when starting a new paragraph. Avoid using tabs to signify

                a new paragraph, different email programs read tabs in different ways.

           g.      If you are sending an attachment, make note of it and describe what 

                the attachment is for in the body, some people are very wary of 

                attachments due to the threat of computer viruses.

         h.       Keep your emails as concise as possible without leaving out any

               important information.

         i.      Always leave a signature line, don't assume the person already knows 

              who you are.

        j.       Do not keep on sending the same message to the same person over and 

              over again; if they don't respond after a few days, send them an e-mail 

              inquiring if they received your first email.

       k.      Use spell check and proof read and revise your letter after it is done.

       l.       Use threads. If you get a message from someone and you are going to 

             respond, don't send a new message, simply hit the reply option on 

             your email, this keeps the original subject line with "Re:" in front of it.

      m.     If you are sending out an email to a large private list do not use 

             CC: (carbon copy) use BCC: (blind carbon copy) to protect 

             the addresses of the recipients.

           When you receive a message reply to it as soon as you have time to. 

Common Communication

Mistakes

 We have recently explored the topic Communication however its importance in the business environment cannot be over emphasized. This post focuses on one form of non-verbal communication, that of Body Language. 

Body language can positively or negatively impact effective communication. Often times however, the impact is unintentionally negative and this is not always readily recognized by the (potential) employee. Below are some of the most common examples of negative body language. These detract from one’s professional image and so keen attention must be paid in correcting same.

Examples of Negative Body Language	How does one address them
NOT SMILING/ FAKE SMILING	Remember to smile with everyone with whom you interact. You can make a great impact on your communication process through this simple habit. Ensure that your smile comes naturally, artificial ones does not impact positively on your communication effectiveness. A genuine smile wrinkles the corners of the eyes and changes the expression of the entire face. Fake smiles only involve the mouth and lips. Smiling regularly tells your employer and colleagues that you are personable and that you enjoy what you do.
POOR EYE CONTACT/UNEVEN OR TOO MUCH EYE CONTACT	Keeping the right amount of eye contact is crucial during any conversation. Too much eye contact may signal the wrong information such as sexual interest, which may make the other person uncomfortable. However, too little eye contact may imply a general lack of interest. It is therefore important that eye contact be punctuated with nods of approval and/or brief statements of affirmation.
POOR BODY POSITIONING	When communicating, it is best to sit or stand uprightly. Slouching around your chair or standing akimbo when communicating shows a lack of professionalism.
TOUCHING	Avoid touching your nose, face, ear and other places on your body unnecessarily when talking with someone. Further avoid unnecessary touching of the person with whom you are speaking, it creates a negative impression about you in others’ minds which can impact negatively on your professional image.
MULTI-TASKING WHILE SOMEONE IS  TRYING TO TALK TO YOU	Be attentive. Focus your attention on what your co-worker or boss is saying to you. If you must continue to work while being spoken to, ask permission to continue your task.