What are some dos and don'ts of email etiquette in the workplace?

The subject is so important! A lot of people want to make subject lines clever or personalised - skip that and write the actual main point of the email. This helps the recipient when they are scanning through to pick out important emails and it also helps later on when they are using the search function. The other thing to remember about subject lines is that they are often truncated by the recipients email client and may only show the first few words depending on their view. Be careful how you start your subject line as this can lead to some unfortunate, though sometimes amusing, consequences. It also means that a lot of the time anything after your first 3 words is not read.

It starts in the best of ways. It is the first thing everyone sees. Be clear and unambiguous (max 60 characters). The subject line should give us a relevant preview

Detailed subject lines are beneficial. It makes it easier to look up the email thread through search when needed at a later date.

All of this, in an email or written context, represents the "paraverbal" channel, or "how we say what." Therefore, it is critical to make conscious use of maiscules, emoji and punctuation

The importance of rereading is directly proportional to the importance of each person's reputation. No one has ever been fired because they reread emails before sending them.

I would also suggest that message responses should only include those who they were delivered to. Replies should not have leaders, manages, supervisors added, if they were not the intended recipients of the original message. If the receiver believes that is necessary, a meeting, or a call should be requested to discuss because it’s obviously that important.

I would also recommend that if you want to reference what someone said, you should copy them in the thread. This avoids any breach of confidence and allows them to further deal with any follow-up questions or clarifications of the information.

Who is your recipient? I also suggest mentioning someone in the body of the e-mail if you want to refer to someone in particular.

Be mindful of unnecessarily copying your manager's manager unless they need to be looped in. Is your manager OOO? Are they away from their desk, and do you need quick/timely approval? It's an important judgment call that needs to be made before hitting send.

If the email is getting too long, it's a sign that this topic might be better resolved on a conversation either face to face, or videoconference.

I find that using bullet points when discussing several items in the email make it easier for the recipient to read. This helps reduce the email length while ensuring all points are included.

Do not use email the way we use message apps. People don’t like to play whack-a-mole all day long, toggling back and forth between quick hits on two channels. Less is more, and send via an effective service. Reserve email for questions that require more than forced choice (yes/no) answer; use it when legal proof is required. And never fire someone on either channel!

Keep in mind that email is not always the most effective way to communicate an important message. The telephone still exists, so use it when it's more efficient to do so.

I think this topic should be under the heading of 'Communicaiton' rather than digital literacy. Particularly when email has been around for decades. However, there have been changes in how we consume email and so there are some key things to think about: The person reading your email will have a million other distractions - be concise. They are likely to be reading your email on a device. Therefore the subject heading and the first two or three things will determine whether they click - Read more. Be clear if action is required or not and put dates in the subject line if that action has a deadline. Think about what your reader needs, and write for them.

It’s also important to sign the email. Specially if you are sending it to someone outside your organization. Including the role or job title and the name of the company you work for. Sometimes the email domain is not the same as the known company name. Not signing the email gives the impression of a careless person or undermines the importance of the subject. Including a signature also gives context of who is contacting you and this can make a huge difference in the reply. Even if you are sending the email through your cell phone, please customize a signature…

Team infoEtiquette, our information etiquette, is a way for a team to align expectations of good practices, which are expected by people who are sending and receiving information to and from each other. Response time, for example, is one of the main causes of problems, such as “Well, I sent you this message and you took so long to reply, what do you mean? What happened?” Therefore, within InfoEtiquette, it’s important to specify how long it takes us on average to respond to messages depending on the channel through which the information was sent.