E-mailing

E-mailing etiquettes for

official mails
 Sending
• Do not use all ‘caps’ – as it is equivalent to
shouting at the other person!!!
• Use standard fonts like Times New Roman or
Arial. Do not use fancy fonts
• Keep the font size up to 10 – 12 but not more.
• Do not type in ‘Italics’. Only selected words
to draw the reader’s attention may be in Italics
• Avoid typing all the letters & words in BOLD.
Only specific words may be typed in Bold
 Sending…contd.
• Type your messages in Black color only
• Only certain words meant to draw the attention
of the reader may be colored
• Only in extreme cases such words may be
colored in Red
• Formal emails should not have any pictures or
animations
 Sending…contd.
• Message writing –
– The reader’s name should be written / addressed
– Use salutations as “Dear Xyz, or just Mr. / Ms.
Xyz.
– When writing e-mail to westerner, please use last
name for addressing, such as: Mr./Dear, Gates. (for
Mr. Bill Gates)
– Type the name of the person correctly
– Spelling the name wrongly is taken as offence
– The message should be crisp and brief
 Sending…contd.
• Message writing continued…
– Avoid writing long paragraphs
– Use bullet points wherever possible to enable quick
reading
– Use numbers for bullet points instead of symbols
– Use of numbers helps the reader to refer to a
specific point while replying
– Give specific date and time wherever required
instead of giving vague timings
– Use a tone of “Request” rather than “Order /
Demand”
 Sending…contd.
• Message writing continued…
– Use paragraphs at appropriate places instead of
typing all text in one single paragraph
– Paragraphs enable readers to understand the
contents quickly and easily
– It also helps the reader to reply with ease
– Use simple English Language
– Language should be easy to understand and also
enable to act on it immediately
 Sending…contd.
• Message writing continued…
– Use words which are known to all and used daily
– Words should not be such that the reader has to
refer to a dictionary
– Bad words and obscene language should never be
used
– Show respect to the reader while drafting emails
– Do not use “SMS” language in emails
– Write complete words. Avoid short forms
 Sending…contd.
• Message writing continued…
– Each email should end with thanks and regards
– If a reply is expected; request for a reply
courteously without insisting for it
– If there is an attachment, mention clearly which
file has been attached
– The name of the file attachment should be clearly
mentioned in the message
 Attachments
• Brief description of the attached file should be
given in the message
• When the attachments are more than one,
make a list of all in the message
• Brief description of all the files should be
given
• When the file size is big, zip it
 Attachments…contd.
• Check before hand with the receiver whether
his Inbox can receive big file
• Do not email unnecessary voluminous data
before checking with the receiver
• When confidential files are attached inform the
reader before hand over phone and request him
to be present at his desktop
• Use passwords for all confidential files
 Attachments…contd.
• Do not type the password in the email message
• Call up the specific reader and inform the
password
• Use passwords which you can remember
• Passwords should not be complicated but
should not be simple and obvious to decode
• Build your own system for passwords and
method to remember
 Addressing
• The specific reader’s id should be typed/
inserted in the “To”
• All other readers which are only for
information should be under “Cc”
• Do not put all the ids under “To” unless the
email is for joint reading
• If reply is expected only from one reader then
only his id should be under “To”
 Addressing…contd.
• All other readers should be under “Cc” only
• Readers put under “Cc” are only for
information, to keep them under loop
• Use of “Bcc” – Blind Carbon Copy
• “Bcc” is used when the sender does not want
to disclose to the recipient, that other people
are also receiving a copy of the email
 Addressing…contd.
• If you are sending an email to multiple people,
put their email addresses in the “Bcc” field and
your own email address in the “To” field.
• No one likes to share their private email
address with strangers
 Subject
• Do not ignore or forget to type the “subject’ in
the subject line
• Writing the subject gives the recipient brief
and immediate information about the purpose
of the email
• Single words like "Hi" or "Hello" or "Help"
are a strict no-no. Think of meaningful but
short titles
 Read Notification Receipt
• Do not request a Read Notification Receipt
unless you really need to know that the email
was opened.
• Return Receipts can be thought by the
recipient to be somewhat of an insult -
implying that you don't trust the fact that they
will read it or will respond in a timely fashion
• Use Return Receipts only when it is “must”
and critical
 Replies
• Reply promptly to all emails specifically
addressed to you
• If you require time to reply send an email
asking for time but do acknowledge
• Use “Reply All” only if your reply is meant
for all the “Cc” list also
 Replies…contd.
• If you are going to quote someone in a reply,
only quote the salient points - not the whole
thing.
• If you are going to reply with history, remove
any attachments before sending it.
• If you are replying to an email that contained
an attachment, then that means they already
have the file - no need to resend it.
 Forward
• Do a “Forward” only if it is a must and only if
the sender has forgot to include a person in the
mailing list
• General emails may be forwarded but it would
do well if the sender is asked before
forwarding his specific email to others
• Before forward think whether the entire chain
of emails below is really required to be sent
 Forward…contd.
• Never, forward a "mass mailing" email,
especially anything
– claiming to be for someone dying,
– some new law that is going to make us all pay,
warnings of a virus,
– make you rich, etc.
– If you feel like it is your duty to send it, then
at least check it out to make sure it is real
 Spell check
• Do not hit the Send button without doing a
“spell check”
• An email with spelling mistakes or
grammatical errors indicates that you have
written the message in a casually and may
convey a bad impression
• Always read the message before publishing it
to all
 General Rules
• Do not send -
– Jokes, Non business emails, Pictures, Films, video
clips
– Personal invitations
• Check out the Corporate Policy on sending
personal invites
• Do not write an email while you are angry or
in a really bad mood. It would reflect on the
style of your writing
 Saving emails
• Save specific, important emails in your
personal folders
• All attachments should be saved in your
specific excel / word / ppt. folders
• After saving critical emails outside the mail
box delete such emails
• Save your address book too, its useful if the
address file gets corrupted
 Thank You

Happy E-mailing