E Mail

What is Email?
Electronic mail, most commonly called email or e-mail since around 1993, is a method of
exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Email operates across
the Internet or other computer networks.
Email is an information and communications technology. It uses technology to communicate

a digital message over the Internet. Users use email differently, based on how they think
about it. There are many software platforms available to send and receive. Popular email
platforms include Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, and many others.
What is email etiquette?
Email etiquette refers to the principles of behavior that one should use when writing or
answering email messages. It is also known as the code of conduct for email
communication. Email etiquette depends upon to whom we are writing- Friends &
Relatives, Partners, Customers, Superior or Subordinates.
Why should we follow email etiquette?
We must follow email etiquette in our professional communication because it is a form of

communication which is a reflection of senders and responders. Bad email etiquette reflects
badly on us, and a record of this is kept in mailboxes over which we have no control. Good
email etiquette reflects well on us, improves our public perception and persona and increases
the chance of a prompt and comprehensive response. It’s not hard to maintain good email
etiquette once we know what it is. A company needs to implement etiquette rules for the
following three reasons:
 Professionalism: by using proper email language your company will convey a

professional image.
 Efficiency: emails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly worded
emails.
 Protection from liability: employee awareness of email risks will protect your
company from costly law suits.
The first step in writing e-mail message:
 Identify the purpose of the message and determining what the recipient reading the
message has to do.
 Focus your objective. Achieve the five I's: Inform, Inquire, Influence, Instruct and
Incite.
 Focus your content. Don't let unnecessary ideas impose on your principal message.
To line:
Each individual on the To line is responsible for response or taking the action (or part of an
action) outlined on the Subject line and the message relates directly to them.
Cc line:
 No action or response is expected of individuals on the Cc The recipient needs only to
read or file the message.
 The individuals whose work is indirectly affected by the communication should be
included on the Cc
Bcc line:
 A feature similar to CC except that in BCC or blind courtesy copy, recipients are
invisible to the other recipients.
 Use Bcc field cautiously.
Subject: line
Subject line should effectively summarize the message. If the subject-line is clearly written,
each recipient on the To line will have a clear understanding of the objective that the message
relates to.
 Subject line should effectively summarize the message

 Not use more than 6 or 7words in subject line
 Never use CAPITAL letter
 When replying, change the subject line when the topic changes.
Salutations:
We should be very careful in writing the salutation because it can be mistranslated the reader
about the sender. So the sender must ensure that his/her reader is comfortable and happy with
my salutation, otherwise rest of the communication may not bring any positive result.
Signatures: A professional signature makes it easy to contact you. Your email account can
automatically add these data to the bottom of the email:
 Full professional name

 Job title
 Business phone/fax numbers
 Business street address
 Business website (if any)
 A legal disclaimer (if required by your company).
Dos…
 Write in a positive tone “When you complete the report.” instead of “If you
complete the report.”
 Be concise and to the point: Do not make an e-mail longer than it needs to be.
 Address all the questions or concerns to avoid delays: An email reply must answer
all questions, which will not only save yours and you customer’s time but also your
customer will be impressed with your efficient service.
 Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation: Improper spelling, grammar and
punctuation give a bad impression of your company, it is also important for conveying
the message properly.
 Read the email before you send it: It is very important to read the email before
sending as it can prevent it from spelling and grammatical mistakes and thus, helps
you sending a more effective message.
 Answer all questions, and pre-empt further questions.
 Use a font that has a professional or neutral look.
 People just want to know what you want, so state that, in the first sentence.
 Provide all supporting information that will help the recipient complete an action or
respond successfully.
 Keep language gender neutral. Apart from using him/her, you can also use the
neutral gender: ''The user should add a signature by configuring the email program”.
 Use active instead of passive: Try to use the active voice of a verb wherever
possible. For instance, 'We will process your order today', sounds better than 'Your
order will be processed today'.
 Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT: Even more so than the high-priority
option, you must at all-time try to avoid these types of words in an email or subject
line.
 Use proper structure & layout: Use short paragraphs and blank lines between each
paragraph. When making points, number them or mark each point as separate to keep
the overview.
 Add disclaimers to your emails: This can help protect your company from liability.
 Take one last look at your distribution list – is this email necessary for all recipients.
 Once the email discussion goes beyond 2-3 replies anyway, it’s time to pick up the
phone.
 Check your Inbox just before you leave office.
 Write about one thing
 Stick to one subject, with one request. Once that’s done, you can send a second one.
 If you write about multiple things, with multiple requests, it is likely that:
 your email won’t be read or acted on
 the receiver will only do one of those things
 Keep flaming under control
 Before you send an email message, ask yourself, “would I say this to this person’s
face?”
 Calm down before responding to a message that offends you. Once you send the
message it is gone.
 Read your message twice before you send it and assume that you may be
misinterpreted when proofreading.
 Empathize with the sender’s frustration and tell them they are right if that is true.
Don’ts …….
 Do not copy a message or attachment without permission: Do notcopy a message or

attachment belonging to another user without permission of the originator.
 Do not use email to discuss confidential information: Sending an email is like
sending a postcard. If you don't want your email to be displayed on a bulletin board,
don't send it
 Do not take your reader by surprise or press them to the wall.
 Do not wait until the end of the day to introduce a problem or concern via memo or
email.
 Avoid writing a litany of concerns that you have been harboring for a long period of
time.
 Don’t overuse the High Priority function: If you overuse the high priority option, it
will lose its function when you really need it. We all know the story of the boy who
cried wolf. If you overuse the high priority option, it will lose its function when you
really need it. Besides, even if a mail has high priority, your message will come across
as slightly aggressive if you flag it as 'high priority'. Likewise, be careful using the
words Urgent or Important in the subject line.
 Never respond if you are upset: Take some time to cool off and consider appropriate
response.
 Don’t Attach unnecessary files- Wherever possible try to compress attachments and
only send attachments when they are productive.
 Don’t forget to attach documents: If you plan to attach a document, do it as soon as
you refer to the document in the email. So often people forget to attach even when
they indicate an attachment, Wagner says. It pays to attach right away so you don’t
have to send a second email.
 Never Use sarcasm or rude jokes as it a professional/ formal communication.
 Avoid irrelevant information: It can confuse your reader.
 Avoid using long sentences
 Do not write in CAPITALS: WRITING IN CAPITALS MAKES IT SEEM AS IF
YOU ARE SHOUTING. This can be highly annoying and might trigger an unwanted
response in the form of a flame mail. Never send any email with all text in capitals.
 Do not overuse Reply to All: Only use Reply to all if you really need your message
to be seen by each person who received the original message.
 Do not use abbreviations: In business emails, do not use abbreviations such as Plz
(please), BTW (by the way) and LOL (laugh out loud). The same goes for emoticons,
such as :-).
 Don’t write a long introduction, don’t tell a story. Skip the niceties.

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E Mail

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What is Email?

Email is an information and communications technology. It uses technology to communicate

What is email etiquette?

Why should we follow email etiquette?

We must follow email etiquette in our professional communication because it is a form of

 Professionalism: by using proper email language your company will convey a

The first step in writing e-mail message:

 Subject line should effectively summarize the message

 Full professional name

 Do not copy a message or attachment without permission: Do notcopy a message or

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