E-mail is the go-to mode of communication in the majority of offices. It is fast, can be sent to several people at once, can be communicated quietly, and does not require everyone to get up and migrate to the conference room. However, the popularity of inter-office e-mail has also revealed a surprising amount of people who lack proper e-mail etiquette. Mercifully, there are only a few pointers to keep in mind so that you do not become one of those people.
Even though you send e-mails to your friends and family all the time without issue, things are different when you send an e-mail to your coworkers or boss. You must remain professional in inter-office e-mails, just as you would if you were speaking to your coworkers over the phone or face to face. This means that you should not become overly familiar in your e-mails. A good rule of thumb to follow is that if you do address your boss with a nickname in person, you should not do so in e-mail either. In addition, leave colloquial slang and text-speak out of your e-mails. Your messages shouldn't sound stuffy, but they also should not sound disrespectful and immature. Just communicate your point as clearly as possible.
In addition, you should also strive to be polite in your e-mails. Do not make inflammatory remarks or passive aggressive attacks, even if the message you are sending is in regards to an issue you have. If you need to confront someone, it is better to do so face to face and not through e-mail. In the same vein, refrain from typing in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. This makes it seem like you are shouting. In fact, type your message using normal grammar rules. This means that your message should be in complete sentences, capitalized, punctuated, and spelled correctly. If you send out missives riddled with errors, it can look decidedly unprofessional and cause your coworkers and boss to question the quality of your other work.
Finally, be careful about who you send what. You may have found a hilarious website that you want to share, but that may be better saved for your closest coworkers and not the entire office. The "Send to All" button is something that should be rarely used because it is very rare when an e-mail actually needs to be communicated to every single person in the office. E-mail etiquette is important when it comes to inter-office communication. Remember to write properly and clearly and refrain from abusing your mass e-mail benefits.
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