E-FRESHER COURSE
BY LAUREN CASTLE

   Every so often clients ask about protocol or etiquette with regard to e-mail correspondence. Like the words we speak, electronic mail is an incredibly powerful and effective means of communication. The rules are constantly evolving. So it’s time for a refresher course, or more precisely, an “e-fresher” course in “netiquette.”

We love the ease and comfort of using e-mail, but an overwhelming number of you find the comfort level a bit disconcerting. In an informal survey, I asked people how they felt about e-mail correspondence in general and, specifically, what was really bothersome to them. There were many concerns and complaints, and overall there was a consistent desire for courtesy. Here are some of their concerns:

Not Thinking Before Writing
Because e-mail is such an instant form of communication, people often don’t take the time to think before they respond. The result can be a tendency to write things that they would never say over the phone or in a face-to-face meeting. PEOPLE WHO INSIST ON USING UPPER-CASE LETTERS, WHICH COMES ACROSS LIKE
YELLING AND IS DIFFICULT TO READ.

Conversely, there are those people who think they are e.e. cummings—too cute for words, all lower case. In e-mail messages, the rules of writing and correspondence shouldn’t fly out the window. Organization, spelling, and grammar are as important in e-mail as they are in other forms of written communication.

Use Helpful Subject Lines
People are busy in the workplace and they could be receiving hundreds of messages daily. Make your message and your subject lines easy for the recipient to identify and follow.

Copying and Forwarding Messages
Make sure that you are not forwarding and copying a message to others without the original writer’s permission. Be careful not to send messages that were not meant for the whole world to see. Keep personal e-mails personal.
And if they are very personal, perhaps e-mail is not the best method of communication. Rumors can spread at lightning speed via Internet connections. Try not to contribute to this nightmare.

Be Careful With Attachments
Avoid sending files that are that are very large and might take a lot of time and space to download. Is this something the recipient wants to receive or has requested? Do they have the appropriate software to download the attachment?

Legibility
Not all computers have the same fonts. Your creativity may not translate to your recipients. Additionally, many fonts have special characters that may not translate to different e-mail programs or through cutting and pasting from word processing programs. These include bullets, hyphens, fractions, curly quotations, and ampersands. When in doubt, it’s best to limit your use of these characters and stick with commonly used fonts. E-mail is about communicating with other people. Read your messages before you send them. If you dedicate the time to ensure that your message is clear, meaningful, and effective, you won’t be kicking yourself for hitting the “send” button too soon!

Lauren Castle is the owner of Impress Express, a professional image firm, focusing on career development, résumé preparation, presentation skills, etiquette and interview coaching. We are members of the Professional Association of Résumé Writers. For help with your image, posting your résumé, or preparing your Internet-friendly résumé, contact Lauren directly at (858) 459-7400. You may also send your image and career-related questions to info@impressexpress.com for further information.