Email Etiquette
Email etiquette refers to a set of dos and don’ts that are recommended by business and communication experts in response to the growing concern that people are not using their email effectively or appropriately. Since email is part of the virtual world of communication, many people communicate in their email messages the same way they do in virtual chat rooms: with much less formality and sometimes too aggressively. Email etiquette offers some guidelines that all writers can use to facilitate better communication between themselves and their readers. One overall point to remember is that an email message does not have non-verbal expression to supplement what we are "saying." Most of the time we make judgments about a person’s motives and intentions based on their tone of voice, gestures, and their proximity to us. When those are absent it becomes more difficult to figure out what the message sender means. It is much easier to offend or hurt someone in email and that is why it is important to be as clear and concise as possible.Electronic mail (E-mail) cannot replace personal contact. David Angell states that electronic email has many advantages, “…eliminates phone tag, …breaks down the distance and time barriers of tel
ephone calls and traditional written communication, …shortens the cycle of written communication, …improves productivity, …creates flexibility…by reducing telephone interruptions.” (Angell-Heslop 2). There is a tendency to be less formal or careful, which can sometimes provoke anger. Remember that direct, person-to-person contact is best for handling sensitive, difficult, complex, or puts it “Messages sent in the heat of the moment generally only exacerbate the situation…” (Harris 2). He advises you to “Settle down and think about it for a while before starting a flame war.” (Harris 2). Consider the presentation of your message: Writing in all uppercase letters tends to convey anger or shouting. Breaking up text using short lines and paragraphs and spaces is helpful in keeping your message readable. Using lists and indentation helps make your points stand out clearly. Remember that electronic email is about communication with other people. When you compose an e-mail message, read it over before sending it and ask yourself what your reaction would be if you received it. Anytime spent on making out email clearer is time well spent. When sending an email pay attention to the distribution list before forwarding received mail to someone else. The recipient might have a copy of that item already. It is im
Some topics in this essay:
David Harris,
David Angell,
,
Samantha Miller,
harris 2,
original message,
electronic email,
communication people,
message subject,
email message,
email etiquette,
written communication,
etiquette rules,
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Approximate Word count = 900
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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