Four Tips to Better Email Etiquette

Email is a necessity, especially in the corporate world. I prefer it over any other type of communication, especially when I’m doing business. It doesn’t leave room for error, because everything you said is in writing and can be referred to later. It makes miscommunication virtually impossible.

Translation: It covers your butt when someone accuses you of saying something you didn’t. Simply refer back to the email to get the facts straight.

Of course, just like everything else, we can misuse email as a means of communication. With that said, I’d like to provide four tips to better email etiquette:

1. Keep messages straight and to the point. Make your point clear in the first part of the message. Don’t make the other person filter through the email to find the point. If someone sends me a long email re: business, I most likely won’t read the whole thing or respond to it. That may sound harsh but it’s true. In a world full of blogs, email, technology, and more, there’s not time to spend on exhausting emails that don’t get to the point.
2. Watch what you say and how you say it. Email messages are harder to understand regarding emotion versus phone or face-to-face meetings. Be careful how your tone comes across so the other person isn’t getting offended. Don’t use ALL CAPS. It means you’re shouting, and if you’re yelling at me in an email, I’m pushing delete.
3. Stop sending chain letters. Yes, I said it. You are NOT going to die if you don’t forward the email about Jesus to 12 people within 8 minutes of opening the email. Delete it. I dare you. Unless it’s from my mother or a few close friends, it goes straight to the trash.
4. Calm down before you reply. Remember that you can’t push “unsend.” If you’re heated up, go ahead and write the email if it makes you feel better. Don’t send it, because you can’t take it back. It could sever a relationship just as in speaking harsh words in a face-to-face meeting. Try waiting at least a day before you reply. I bet your message will be a little different.

I’m currently working on some email tips provided by Timothy Ferris in the book The 4-Hour Workweek, which I’ll be excited to share with you after my trial run. One of those tips includes only replying to email twice daily. It’s a big change for me, but I’m excited to see how it works and add margin to my life.
Question: What drives you crazy regarding email etiquette? What works for you? Comment below…