The Do’s and Don’ts of Email Etiquette

August 19, 2022

Years ago, I authored an article on email etiquette for a public relations newsletter, for Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) – Hamilton Chapter. In the article I talked about how quickly we had gone from Inter-office envelopes and memorandums (for us that remember) to full email on our computers and some of the Do’s and Don’ts of email etiquette. I personally have been using email since the late 80's and my, how our lives and technology world has changed since then. When I wrote the article for CPRS, it was at the beginning of Facebook and the social media of today did not exist. You could not even text on your phone back then.

In today’s business world we take for granted the tools we have become accustomed to using. In recent years, as technology has changed, we are no longer using our computers exclusively for writing documents and communications. Computers and laptops today have apps just like our phones or tablets, and they are all able to synchronize information at lighting speed.

For years we have used our iPhones, and Androids and Tablets to communicate with our business associates, co-workers, friends, and family. Chat programs such as Telegram, WhatsApp, Slack, Facebook Messenger, LinkedIn Messenger, Skype, have taken on a bigger role in our lives. No longer do you just hear or see the words, “Call Me,” but now it is “Text me,” or "What’s your WhatsApp." and many of us are now moving to digital business cards.

As these technologies emerged, our usage of email has changed. It has also challenged us to communicate in a way that gets the proper message across. Many professionals may be losing the ability to communicate effectively.

As professionals how we communicate, how we write or correspond says a lot about us. From the way we do business to the way we treat each other, email etiquette - or more commonly referred to as netiquette. [Netiquette is online or internet etiquette].

In this article I am not going go into all the do's and don'ts of full online etiquette. I am going to share a few do’s and don’ts of email etiquette that might come in handy when you are drafting your next email communication from your computer, laptop, iPhone, android, or tablet.

I have gone back to that newsletter article and taken from it the list of the Do’s and Don’ts ?I wrote about years ago note much has changed but I have added a few more points that over the years have become relevant, be it an email or a business message on LinkedIn – they all apply.

• Don’t use ALL CAPS. ?Emphasizing some words in CAPS is okay, but to send an email in all CAPS tells the recipient that you are yelling at them. ?
• Don’t send huge attachments without notifying the recipient first. Large attachments can be considered spam and could be withheld by your internet email providers company, or recipients’ servers. If sending several large documents at the same time break them up into smaller e-mails or use the Cloud and share the link.
• Don’t send an email if you are angry with the recipient. Sleep on it. Your anger will subside, and you will think more clearly in the morning.
• Don’t drink and email. Like drinking and driving or drinking and texting, this could lead to death by email. If you have the urge to send out an email to a co-worker, boss, or customer, wait until you are sober. Your grammar, tone, speech, and personality will be much better when you have slept on it.
• Don’t CC everyone and their mothers. Remember who it is you are communicating to and if they really need to know what you are saying. People do not like to get useless emails, especially when it is not directed to them.
• Don't email or LinkedIn message someone with a sales pitch if you have not taken the time to look at their profile or their company. We all get messages like these and how many do you actually get business from. Take the time to findout about them firsts, or better yet send them an actual letter through the mail or make that cold call.
• Don’t use your phone to check email when you are in a meeting or out to dinner. I know I have been known to do this; we all have. For the most part, our phones are attached to our hips. But we need to choose to be present, we will enjoy the experience more. If it is an issue that cannot wait, tell everyone at the beginning of the meeting or dinner you will need to take the call or address an email that is urgent. When the call or email comes through, excuse yourself, leave the table and take the call in private. But really can it not wait until later.
• Don’t Ghost. We are all busy and we get a ”ton” of emails and messages, especially through LinkedIn for business and on our computers, phones, etc. If you cannot get to the email/message right away, prioritizing your emails is the best thing to do. What is most important and what can wait. Studies show that workplace emails are causing “cognitive overload.”?I know I can suffer from the overload as well, as I am currently monitoring seven email accounts and some of those are client assigned email addresses. So, decide what is most important to deal with. If you cannot address the communication, at least send a response acknowledging receipt and that you will respond within a certain time, say 24 or 48 hours. Or if you are not interested in what they have to offer then tell them. I try to book one hour first thing in the morning to go through emails and plan out my day on what I am going to respond to. If I need to, I even put in the subject line: Please read now, or Your attention is required. Albeit you should use this technique sparingly.
• Do be polite and courteous. When asking for something always write “Please” and "Thank you.”
• Do be aware of your tone. The way you come across in an e-mail and how you word your sentences is particularly important and in haste we can come across as terse or demanding. By re-wording, your sentences, and paragraphs you can convey respect and consideration for the recipient.
• Do get to the point quickly. Stick to the point and keep the message short. If a backgrounder is important, advise the recipient at the beginning of the email that a backgrounder has been included. Don’t write a book! If your email needs clarification it may be best to schedule a meeting or a call with the recipient.
• Do use a spell checker. Spelling is important in any business environment; many tend to think it is okay to send typos in an email. I have been guilty of this, and it only takes a few minutes to check your spelling.
• Do use proper grammar. Proper grammar is essential and can be the best way to convey a good impression and your message. Grammarly is a great add-on app for your computer, phone, or tablet to help you along the way to good grammar. Even better it is free.
• Do re-read your email before pressing the send button. You will not get another chance to fix your email or, in some cases, rewrite it or even a chance to recall it.
• Do use a proper beginning and ending salutations. As with letter writing if you do not know the person well, the salutation you would use Dear Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss., or Dear {Name}, Dear Sir, Dear Madam, or when applying for a job Dear Hiring Manager. For someone you are familiar with you would use Hi {Name}, Hello {Name} or Good Morning/Afternoon/Evening {Name}. For ending salutations, they differ. Sincerely can be used if you do not know the person well, to Yours Truly, Best Wishes, Best, Kind Regards, if you are familiar with them.? You must decide which one is best for the email you have compiled.
• Do copy yourself when using your phone. ?How many times have you sent an email from your phone and then when working on your laptop or computer the email is not in your sent folder. With the amount of emails that we get and send during the day, copying yourself either CC or BCC, is a great way to search for your email you may have sent.? My email server is POP and when I send an email from my phone it is not saved on the server, so by copying myself I get the email, on my laptop so I can refer back to it.
• Do be aware of boundaries and work-life balance. Many companies today have in place policies about emailing after regular business hours. Is the message important or can you schedule it go out the next morning? Years ago when I was working late one night I sent an email to a colleague?and the next day he spoke to me about that email and he said "By sending me that email so late at night, it made me feel like I was the last thing on your list of to-dos and you forgot about me. It would be better to schedule it first thing, becuase then I think you are also up that early." So now if I am working after regular business hours I do try to schedule them for first thing. Scheduling an email from your phone or tablet can be hard to do with email apps, so maybe it is best to schedule from your computer. If you do have to send out an email after business hours, indicate within your message or salutation that this message is being sent after regular business hours as does not require a response until next day.

Our computers, laptops, phones and tablets have become an integral part of our lives. Remember when we were told the digital world would make our lives easier, and communication was going to be quicker and easier? What do you think?