email etiquette: keeping your foot out of your virtual mouth

Email Etiquette:

Keeping Your Foot Out of Your Virtual Mouth

Email etiquette is evolving too

E-mail has quickly become a communication standard and the Internet’s most popular application. Both the number of e-mail users and the usage rates are continuing to grow exponentially.

Mischelle Davis, V.P. of marketing communications at NewWorldIQ

Where are we now? Right now

online writing is pretty muchin its Wild West stage, a free- for-all with everybody shooting from the hip and nosheriff in sight.O’Conner & Kellerman (2002)

What makes email different?

Difference: Tone No nonverbal cues

Tone becomes crucial

Difference: Tone No nonverbal cues

Tone becomes crucial

In Germany and Britain, 23 percent and 14 percent respectively [of respondents to a Daily Mail survey] admitted confrontations with colleagues because of e-mail misunderstandings.

Criticisms are harsher Messages meant to express mild displeasure can come across as tirades.

Louise Dobson, Avoiding Email Catastrophes (2006)

Tone: Example OneTo: Female employees From: H. HonchoRe: Dress codeDate: 1 July 2006

Clients will be visiting next week. Halter tops and jeans will not make the right impression. It’s time you started dressing for the office instead of the beach. Leave your flip-flops at home!

Tone: Example Two

To: All staffFrom: H. HonchoRe: Reminder about what to wear to work Date: 1 July 2006

During the summer, our dress code is business casual. We think “business casual” means clothes that feel comfortable and look professional.

Men Women•khaki pants •casual pants and skirts•leather shoes… •leather or fabric shoes…

Tips: Tone

Avoid terseness, which can be misinterpreted

Use face-to-face communication if issue is sensitive

Read your emails aloud, looking for ambiguity

Humor: Riskier Nearly a quarter of employees

have suffered problems with colleagues or clients because their use of humour in an email has not been understood or appreciated, according to a survey.

Robert Jacques, “Email Jokes Backfire

for UK Workers” (2004)

Humor: Often misinterpreted Participants [in recent studies]

were able to accurately communicate humor and sarcasm in barely half -- 56 percent -- of the emails they sent.

Louise Dobson (2006)

Tips: Humor If in doubt, don’t send it.

Chevron was forced to pay $2.2 millionto settle a harassment case based in part on emails with such subjects as “Why beer is better than women.”

Reread for ambiguities. Signal the joke.

One emoticon or <grin> per email is plenty.

Difference: Levels of formality

Most people view email as

more formal than a phone call

less formal than a letter

Tip: Spelling still counts

This is an actual email.

Purposal

I can beat almost anyones price and almost promise you success and if I don’t reach it, we wont charge you after the time we say we can achieve it until we do.

Tip: Spelling still counts Sloppiness is one of “seven deadly e-mail sins” Bad grammar, misspelling and disconnected

arguments gave 81 percent of the survey sample "negative feelings" towards the senders.

41 percent of senior managers said badly worded e-mails implied laziness and even disrespect.

CNN.com

Tip: Level of Formality

When in doubt, err on the side of formality.

Tip: Level of Formality

Be conversational.

An overly formal e-mail messagealienates the reader. Don’t adopt acold, remote, or superior tone in an attempt to sound professional.

Angell and Heslop (2002)

Difference: Level of Formality

Questions to which answers are evolving: Do I need a subject line? Should I email a thank-you note

after a job interview? Should I communicate bad news

via email?

Difference: Electronic Hit Send and it’s gone Hit Reply All and your career

may be gone Deleted emails live on Messages can be forwarded

without your knowledge or consent

Tip: Email is never private Pillsbury assured employees that emails

were private. Michael Smyth was fired after sending an email

calling his bosses “backstabbing bastards.” A court held that he had no reasonable

expectation of privacy.

Tip: Electronic ≠ Instant Many expect a phone call to alert them

to an email labeled Urgent. Allow a reasonable time (two days – week)

for a response. Respond before senders have to follow up

or business is delayed.

Three manners mavens: Shea

Typing in all capitals in electronic communications means

(B) You are shouting.Typing in all capitals in online communications is the equivalent of SHOUTING! Only type in all capsif you really mean to shout.

Anatomy of email: From

E-mail recipients put more weight on who the e-mail is from than any other item when choosing

which e-mails to openwhich to deletewhich to complain about

Chris Baggot, ExactTarget

Anatomy of an email: Subject

Your subject can answer any of readers’ four key questions:

1. What’s this about?

2. Why should I read this?

3. What’s in this for me?

4. What am I being asked to do?

Anatomy of email: Subject

To: Girrrl friendsFrom: Ima DitzRe: Change of plans

Anatomy of email: Subject

To: Sara Bellum From: Gray Matter Re: Marketing meeting rescheduled for 12/15/06

Tips: Subject

Lead with the main idea Browsers may not display more than first 25-35 characters

Create single-subject messages

Keep track of threads Subject: New Year’s Party Plans (was: New Year-End Bonus Structure)

More Tips: Subject

Double-check the address line before sending.

Insulted by a general email from the boss, an employee sent an angry comment to a colleague (she thought): “Does she think we’re stupid?”

The reply (from her boss): “Yes, I do.”

Anatomy of an email: Body Before you type anything into a new message,

have explicit answers for two questions: 1. Why am I writing this?

2. What exactly do I want the result of this message to be?

43 Folders (2005)

Anatomy of an email: Body Before you hit Send, review and delete

Negative comments about management Criticisms of staff or performance issues Bonuses or salary issues Product or liability issues Gossip Humor or other ambiguities

Booher

Anatomy of email: Body

Write so emails are easy to read

Make paragraphs 7-8 lines

Insert a blank line between paragraphs

Use headlines, bullets, and numbers

AVOID ALL CAPS; THAT’S SHOUTING

If a message is longer than 3 screens, send an attachment

Tip: Avoid brusqueness Brief is good. Blunt is not.

Question: Should I pursue an advanced degree?

Response 1: No. Response 2: I don’t think an

advanced degree would have any effect on your potential for promotion here.

Diana Booher

Question: Do I need a greeting? Consensus: Yes.

Otherwise, you can seem brusque or unfriendly.

Question: Which greeting? Opinion: Divided

Some say “Hi, Steve,” is too informal.

Some say “To whom it may concern” is stilted.

For external communication, use same greeting as in letter

For internal communication, some use Myra:

Question: Which closing? Consensus

Match greeting in tone Formal: Sincerely, Best regards,

Cordially Informal: Thanks; All the best,

Talk to you later

Use a sig line that gives your name, title, and contact information

Omit a P.S. (if the email is longer than a screen,a postscript could be missed)

Question: Email thank-you? 36 percent of employers on

Monster prefer thank-you notes sent by email

29 percent prefer traditional letters