How to Improve Your Email Etiquette
Keep your email concise, conversational, and focused., Avoid fancy formatting., Limit attachments., Think before you send., Be careful using abbreviations and emoticons.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Keep your email concise
It is harder to read letters on a computer screen than on a sheet of paper, so keep emails short and to the point.
While there is no ideal email length, keep sentences short, about 8-12 words and leave a space between paragraphs.
In a work email, get straight to the point: "I'm hoping you will..." "I think we should...." etc right up front, making the case in the following lines.
Many people only read the first few lines before deciding to respond or to save for later.
Those line should give enough of the "meat" to allow an informed decision.
For personal emails, it's often a nice idea to open with a brief personal note before getting into the main point of your email. , Changing fonts and colors, inserting bullet lists, or using HTML can make an email look bizarre or render it unreadable for the recipient, even if the formatting looks fine on your computer.
Keep it simple. , Don't add an attachment unless really necessary.
Keep attachments as small as possible.
Most email applications can send and receive attachments up to 1 MB, but anything over that can be a hassle for you or the recipient, and even smaller files can take a long time to open if the recipient's email connection is slow.
If you need to send a larger file, compress or zip it or use online services that will help you send large files such as YouSendIt.com.
If you need to send multiple pages, such as meeting plans or large text corrections, send a fax or a typed set of pages in a letter.
Don't zip email attachments unless necessary.
Unless an attachment is too large to send otherwise, you risk wasting your recipient's time and possibly hinder them from accessing your attachments.
Many mobile devices are unable to uncompress zip files.
Additionally it's redundant since many common files like .xlsx, .docx, .pptx (MS Excel, Word and Powerpoint) are already in a compressed format.
Keep in mind that many people or businesses will not open attachments from someone they don't know, and some email accounts are set up to automatically send emails with attachments to the spam folder, so if you're applying for a job, for example, make sure you follow the recipient's instructions regarding attachments.
If no instructions are given, send another email to let the recipient know you'll be sending an email with an attachment. , Don't send e-mails when you are emotional.
Feel free to write the subject and text of the email, then save it.
Only add the recipients and send it after you have had time to think about what you are sending; you might change your mind and be better off for it.
Email has also become a tool to ask or tell people things that you would normally never say face-to-face (ever wonder why you become a different person instinctively online?).
If you are sending someone anything, reread it and ask yourself if you would say this to them if they were right next to you, or face-to-face.
If it's on a touchy subject, read it twice. , This may be acceptable in an informal e-mail such as with a friend.
However, in a formal letter you wouldn't have to tell someone that you're "laughing out loud," people may find it inappropriate, and could feel you are being frivolous.
Some abbreviations, such as "BTW" for "By the Way," are commonly used in emails and are generally acceptable except in formal, professional emails. -
Step 2: conversational
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Step 3: and focused.
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Step 4: Avoid fancy formatting.
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Step 5: Limit attachments.
-
Step 6: Think before you send.
-
Step 7: Be careful using abbreviations and emoticons.
Detailed Guide
It is harder to read letters on a computer screen than on a sheet of paper, so keep emails short and to the point.
While there is no ideal email length, keep sentences short, about 8-12 words and leave a space between paragraphs.
In a work email, get straight to the point: "I'm hoping you will..." "I think we should...." etc right up front, making the case in the following lines.
Many people only read the first few lines before deciding to respond or to save for later.
Those line should give enough of the "meat" to allow an informed decision.
For personal emails, it's often a nice idea to open with a brief personal note before getting into the main point of your email. , Changing fonts and colors, inserting bullet lists, or using HTML can make an email look bizarre or render it unreadable for the recipient, even if the formatting looks fine on your computer.
Keep it simple. , Don't add an attachment unless really necessary.
Keep attachments as small as possible.
Most email applications can send and receive attachments up to 1 MB, but anything over that can be a hassle for you or the recipient, and even smaller files can take a long time to open if the recipient's email connection is slow.
If you need to send a larger file, compress or zip it or use online services that will help you send large files such as YouSendIt.com.
If you need to send multiple pages, such as meeting plans or large text corrections, send a fax or a typed set of pages in a letter.
Don't zip email attachments unless necessary.
Unless an attachment is too large to send otherwise, you risk wasting your recipient's time and possibly hinder them from accessing your attachments.
Many mobile devices are unable to uncompress zip files.
Additionally it's redundant since many common files like .xlsx, .docx, .pptx (MS Excel, Word and Powerpoint) are already in a compressed format.
Keep in mind that many people or businesses will not open attachments from someone they don't know, and some email accounts are set up to automatically send emails with attachments to the spam folder, so if you're applying for a job, for example, make sure you follow the recipient's instructions regarding attachments.
If no instructions are given, send another email to let the recipient know you'll be sending an email with an attachment. , Don't send e-mails when you are emotional.
Feel free to write the subject and text of the email, then save it.
Only add the recipients and send it after you have had time to think about what you are sending; you might change your mind and be better off for it.
Email has also become a tool to ask or tell people things that you would normally never say face-to-face (ever wonder why you become a different person instinctively online?).
If you are sending someone anything, reread it and ask yourself if you would say this to them if they were right next to you, or face-to-face.
If it's on a touchy subject, read it twice. , This may be acceptable in an informal e-mail such as with a friend.
However, in a formal letter you wouldn't have to tell someone that you're "laughing out loud," people may find it inappropriate, and could feel you are being frivolous.
Some abbreviations, such as "BTW" for "By the Way," are commonly used in emails and are generally acceptable except in formal, professional emails.
About the Author
Nathan Ramirez
Professional writer focused on creating easy-to-follow DIY projects tutorials.
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