How to Develop E-Mail Ettiquette

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Each day the world continues to move away from the conventional and traditional use of pens and paper as communication tools and toward electronic communication. While many people use email some do not exhibit the same level of courtesy and respect in their typing that they would have in their handwriting. Learn to improve your e-mail etiquette here.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

a computer
e-mail service

Your Guide To Writing E-mails

Step1

Check your spelling. There was a time when you could get away with misspelled e-mails, since most e-mail clients did not include "spell check" software among their features. Now they do and there is no excuse not to use them. You should also avoid using abbreviated spellings, or "leetspeak," in your e-mails if you want them to be taken seriously. "C U L8R" is not the same as "see you later," and only makes the writer look foolish.

Step2

Use a normal font and only type in black. Big, crazy fonts and colored text might work well for a child, but they only make an adult look childish. Stick to black text and use a reasonably sized, conventional font when you type.

Step3

Keep your greeting as formal as you can. Unless your writing an e-mail to your spouse or a close friend or family member, you'll want to at least use the complete spelling of that person's first name when you address them. Do not use initials or terms of endearment when writing to people you hardly know. When in doubt, using "Mr." or "Mrs." or "Ms" will work just fine. You cannot go wrong when using a formal salutation.

Step4

Never type in capital letters. In e-mail terms this means you are screaming and it looks really bad on the page. Make sure you lay off the "caps lock" button when you start typing.

Step5

Create an appropriate signature. You can finish up your e-mails by adding some contact info in your signature, a feature that now comes standard with most major e-mail services. A few small lines of contact information will add a nice touch to your message, giving it a more professional ending.