Good E-Mail Practices

As through e-mail, one can collaborate with colleagues and other professionals, certain good e-mail practices need to be followed. The following suggestion will help in organizing and presenting e-mail messages systematically.

To Follow Established e-mail Conventions:
Ir is important for us to be familiar with the established e-mail conventions of the organization we work in. So a rule, email is not used to send confidential, complex, embarrassing, or sensitive information. As email creates a permanent record that can be used against a sender, it should not be used to convey anything that should not be made public.

To Check Mailbox Daily:
We should check our mailbox daily so that we can read every email message sent to us and respond promptly. In case information is not adequate and ready for a reply, email at least should be acknowledged.

To be Correct:
Special care should be taken about the accuracy, which includes both accuracy of information as well as the accuracy of the presentation. Address of the receiver, subject line, basic content of the message and the attachments should be double-checked before clicking the send button.

To be Brief:
Email messages may be very suitable for conveying simple and sensitive information. No one likes to read very lengthy email messages. Unnecessary information, wordy expressions, repetitions, and exaggeration should be avoided.

To be Formal:
Email is a formal channel of communication and formal language should be used. Emotional expressions, informal words, personal remarks, humorous statements, jokes, etc. should be avoided.

To Maintain Readability:
While composing the email message, the sender should visualize the computer screen. Introductory summary, heading, side heading, listings, etc. should be designed to improve the readability of longer email messages.

To Care About Tone:
Using a tactless or negative tone can lead to confusion and misunderstanding. A formal but conversational tone which gives a personal touch to email should be preferred.