E-mail Etiquette - How to Ensure Your E-mails are Top Notch

Have you ever received an e-mail and wondered has this person ever written an e-mail before or have you ever sent an e-mail to someone and had them then call you to answer your question?? E-mail etiquette is very important in the business world and it's obvious that some people just don't understand!!!

I am one of those people who sits in front of a computer all day at work and have many people that I e-mail in a given day and I can't tell you how many things bother me that people do which to me are just common sense. Here is a list I came up of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to e-mailing and if you want to have proper e-mail etiquette follow these simple tips:

1) Never type in all caps lock - Sending an e-mail in all caps is construed as rude and comes across to the reader as shouting

2) Don't respond with a phone call - I can't tell you how many times this happens to me in a given day. I will send an e-mail to someone just asking a simple question and then five minutes later they are standing outside my cubicle or calling me on the phone. Unless the e-mail response is long and drawn out in which case it would just be easier to talk to the person the appropriate response is a simple e-mail back with the answer to their question.

3) Answer Promptly - I am always sending out e-mails to friends and family often inviting them to our house or up to our lake cabin for the weekend and it drives me crazy when I am trying to plan an event for items such as sleeping arrangements or food and people just don't respond or wait forever to e-mail me back. Generally you know if you are available that day unless the invite is a few months away and I suggest send the e-mail response when you get it!!

4) Use Proper Grammar and Spelling - When writing an e-mail it is very important to use spell check and read your e-mail before you hit send. There is nothing more confusing or frustrating to the reader of your message to have to decipher your e-mail through improper grammar and spelling.

These are just a few ideas and ways to help improve your e-mail etiquette. It is important to write and e-mail as you would a letter to a person you are working with. Type it as if you would want to receive and by following these simple steps you can ensure your e-mail etiquette is top notch!!!