5 Facts High Schoolers Should Know About Email Etiquette

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More than ever, companies are experimenting with new communication modalities. That said, as employees, especially Generation Z, are accustomed to communicating in real-time collaborative environments similar to those found within social media.  Applications such as Yammer and Slack use social technologies to allow employees to share information internally.  However, despite the emergence of new workplace communication applications email still reigns supreme.  A survey conducted by the Public Relations Society of America found that 95% of companies use email as their primary mode of internal communication.

Here are five rules to live by:

1. Use “Reply all” thoughtfully. Consider whether everyone on the list will benefit from your response.  Take time to edit the recipient list to avoid  inundating people with emails that don’t pertain to them.  Nothing eats more time than reading unnecessary emails (not to mention the aggravation of it all).
2. Check your tone.  Never compose an email when you’re upset because it’s too easy to include harsh words and phraseology that you will likely regret later.  Also, brevity can be a friend or foe…a sent message can be misconstrued as abrupt or not taken seriously enough.  Before sending, put yourself in the recipient’s position and read your message aloud.  Does it convey what you intended?   Remember to include “please” and “thank you”.  They are courtesies that will take you miles with the reader.
3. Avoid fancy fonts.  Use easy to read fonts such as Arial, or Times New Roman.  It’s best to use size 11 or 12 point types.
4. To prevent accidentally sending an incomplete email, insert the recipient address(es) just before you’re ready to send the message.  That way you will catch typos and missing attachments.
5. Every communication is not email compatible.  If you require a quick response, make a phone call.  Also, keep in mind that sensitive subjects such as job performance may be best suited for a face-to-face conversation.

When it’s all said and done, email is still an effective mode of communication and we must understand how to manage its usefulness and power.  Young new hires should review this short video and add it to their Soft Skills arsenal.

For more information about email and telephone etiquette,  type “business etiquette” in the blog search box on our website, www.elite-customer.com.

And now…go out there and make it a great day !!