EMAIL ETIQUETTE/TIPS & TRICKS A guide to using CARE principles when sending email while learning how to improve your email usage and organization.

Robert Noska Hennepin County Learning Technologist robert.noska@hennepin.us

TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE

COURSE OUTLINE 3

CARE MODEL 4

CREATE AN EMAIL CATEGORY

5

CREATE AN EMAIL RULE

6

CREATE CUSTOM VIEWS

10

CREATING TASKS FROM EMAIL

14

CREATING CALENDAR ENTRIES USING EMAIL

16

USING OUTLOOK TODAY

19

CREATING AN EMAIL SIGNATURE

21

CREATE COMMON RESPONSES TO EMAIL REQUESTS THROUGH SIGNATURES

23

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COURSE OUTLINE

At the end of this presentation you will know how to:

Send emails with CARE principles Organize your inbox through categorizing and searching Use emails to create tasks and calendar items Create signature templates with responses to common emails/requests

I: Sending emails with CARE

Connect: Friendly greeting/descriptive subjects Appreciate: clear thinking, plain language, tailored to your audience, appropriate tone Respond: Thank customer/sender where necessary, offer further assistance Empower: If it’s not part of your job/duties, put the sender on the right track with next

steps/information

II: Organize your inbox

‐Introduction to Categorizing emails ‐ How to create views to search categories ‐How to set up rules for incoming messages

III: Use emails to create tasks & calendar items

‐Incoming emails that require an action ‐Incoming emails that need to be added to your calendar ex. Webinar, Class, non‐meeting invite creating emails (email to calendar, changing time/date/location) ‐Use day at a glance to show your calendar/tasks/and unread emails

IV: Creating signature templates

‐How to create signatures for different audiences ‐How to create canned responses to common requests using signatures

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CARE MODEL

Customers Are Valued

Email Examples

Connect • Include a friendly greeting

• Write a descriptive subject line or

retain the customer’s original subject

line

Hi, Dear, Greetings, Hello

Good: Request for assistance on XYZ project Re: Customer request for

information Not good: Hi!

Re: Fwd: Fwd: Re: Fwd: Re: Hi!

Appreciate • Be clear in your thinking, keep it

short and sweet • Check that you have the proper tone

• Avoid distracting fonts and

abbreviations

• If the customer has been waiting:

• Acknowledge

• Thank

• Apologize

• Consider confidentiality before you

forward

• Be cautious and fully aware when

using the “reply to all” function

• Provide a referral as needed

Good: Plain language, bullet points/numbered steps

Not Good: Long paragraphs with business jargon and abbreviations illegible fonts that nobody can read

Super diStracting large fontS

Respond • Thank the customer

• Ask to be of further assistance

Good: Thank you for contacting us, if you have further questions please let us know Not good: “We don’t do that here.” “I don’t handle that”

Empower • If you cannot resolve the issue,

provide information on who can

resolve

• Provide next steps in writing and

links to more information when

possible

Good: “Here is the contact info for “X”

department that can help you with that” “Go to

our website, click on the link in the upper right

hand corner to send us your request”

Not good: “Not my job, not my problem”

“Sorry I can’t help you, good luck with that!”

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CREATE AN EMAIL CATEGORY

1. ON THE RIBBON AT THE TOP OF THE

SCREEN, LEFT-CLICK ON THE

“CATEGORIZE” DROP DOWN IN THE HOME TAB. THEN LEFT-CLICK ON THE “ALL

CATEGORIES…” LINK.

2. IF YOU HAVE AN EXISTING CATEGORY YOU

WOULD LIKE TO RENAME/RECOLOR, LEFT-CLICK ON THE “RENAME” BUTTON. TO

CREATE A NEW CATEGORY, LEFT-CLICK ON

THE “NEW…” BUTTON.

3. ENTER THE NAME OF THE CATEGORY IN THE

“NAME:” FIELD, THEN LEFT-CLICK ON THE

“COLOR:” DROP DOWN TO SELECT THE

COLOR OF THE CATEGORY. LEFT-CLICK

“OK” TO FINISH.

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CREATING AN EMAIL RULE

1. ON THE RIBBON AT THE TOP OF THE

SCREEN, LEFT-CLICK ON THE “RULES” DROP-DOWN IN THE “HOME” TAB. THEN

LEFT-CLICK ON “MANAGE RULES & ALERTS…”.

2. LEFT-CLICK ON THE “NEW RULE…”BUTTON TO CREATE A NEW RULE.

3. LEFT-CLICK ON “APPLY RULE ON

MESSAGES I RECEIVE” THEN LEFT- CLICK ON THE “NEXT” BUTTON.

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CREATING AN EMAIL RULE

4. TO CREATE A RULE FOR A SPECIFIC

PERSON OR EMAIL ADDRESS, CHECK

THE BOX FOR “FROM PEOPLE OR

PUBLIC GROUP”. TO CREATE A RULE

FOR SPECIFIC KEYWORDS WITHIN A SUBJECT LINE, CHECK THE BOX FOR

“WITH SPECIFIC WORDS IN THE

SUBJECT OR BODY”. THEN LEFT- CLICK ON THE “NEXT” BUTTON.

THIS EXAMPLE DEMONSTRATES THE PEOPLE OR GROUP RULE

5. ASSIGN THE MESSAGE TO A CATEGORY BY CHECKING THE BOX FOR “ASSIGN IT TO THE CATEGORY

CATEGORY”

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CREATING AN EMAIL RULE

6. LEFT-CLICK ON THE “CATEGORY”

LINK IN STEP 2.

7. CLICK ON THE CHECK BOX NEXT TO THE CATEGORY YOU WANT TO

ASSIGN TO THE RULE, THEN LEFT- CLICK ON “OK”.

ADOBE IS THE CATEGORY FOR THIS EXAMPLE

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CREATING AN EMAIL RULE

8. LEFT-CLICK THE “NEXT” BUTTON

UNTIL YOU REACH THE “FINISH

RULE SETUP” PAGE. TO APPLY THE

RULE TO EXISTING MAIL IN YOUR INBOX, CHECK THE BOX UNDER STEP

2 FOR “RUN THIS RULE NOW ON

MESSAGES ALREADY IN “INBOX””. LEFT-CLICK ON “FINISH” TO APPLY

THE RULE.

9. ALL MAIL AFFECTED BY THE RULE WILL NOW BE SHOWN WITH THE

CATEGORY ASSOCIATION.

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CREATE CUSTOM VIEWS

1. ON THE RIBBON AT THE TOP

OF THE SCREEN, LEFT-CLICK

ON THE “VIEW” TAB. LEFT-CLICK ON THE “CHANGE

VIEW” DROP DOWN, THEN

LEFT- CLICK ON “MANAGE

VIEWS…”

2. CREATE A NEW VIEW BY

LEFT- CLICKING ON THE

“NEW…” BUTTON.

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CREATE CUSTOM VIEWS

3. ADD A NAME FOR THE VIEW IN THE

“NAME OF NEW VIEW:” FIELD.

WE WILL USE ADOBE FOR THIS EXAMPLE

4. LEFT-CLICK ON THE “FILTER…”

BUTTON.

5. LEFT-CLICK ON THE “MORE

CHOICES” TAB, THEN LEFT-CLICK ON

THE “CATEGORIES…” BUTTON.

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CREATE CUSTOM VIEWS

6. CHECK THE BOX NEXT TO THE

CATEGORY FOR THE VIEW, THEN

LEFT-CLICK ON OK.

WE ARE USING ADOBE FOR THIS EXAMPLE

7. LEFT-CLICK ON “OK”.

LEFT-CLICK ON “OK” TO CLOSE REMAINING OPEN WINDOWS.

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CREATE CUSTOM VIEWS

8. CHANGE YOUR VIEW TO THE NEW

VIEW BY LEFT-CLICKING ON THE

“CHANGE VIEW” DROP DOWN AND

SELECTING YOUR VIEW.

WE ARE USING ADOBE FOR THIS EXAMPLE

9. YOUR VIEW WILL NOW DISPLAY ONLY

EMAILS FROM YOUR SELECTED CATEGORY. TO RETURN TO THE MAIN VIEW, LEFT-CLICK ON “CHANGE

VIEW” THEN LEFT-CLICK ON

“COMPACT”.

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CREATING TASKS FROM EMAILS

1. SELECT THE EMAIL YOU WANT TO CREATE A TASK

WITH BY LEFT-CLICKING AND DRAGGING THE EMAIL

TO THE “TASK” BAR ON THE LEFT NAVIGATION

PANEL.

Click and drag

Release when you see this icon

THE EMAIL WILL POPULATE THE SUBJECT OF THE TASK WITH THE

EMAIL’S SUBJECT LINE. THE TASK DESCRIPTION WILL BE POPULATED

BY THE BODY OF THE EMAIL.

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CREATING TASKS FROM EMAILS

TO MODIFY THE TASK, USE THE NUMBERED ITEMS BELOW:

Start Date: Choose the date for your task to begin

Due Date: Choose the date to complete your task

Status/Priority: Track the progress and importance of your task Reminder: Set a notification to remind you when the task is due

2. LEFT-CLICK “SAVE & CLOSE” TO ADD THE TASK

TO YOUR TASK LIST.

The task is now on your task list

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CREATING CALENDAR ENTRIES USING EMAIL

1. SELECT THE EMAIL TO CREATE A CALENDAR

ENTRY BY LEFT-CLICKING AND DRAGGING THE EMAIL

TO THE “CALENDAR” BAR ON THE LEFT NAVIGATION

PANEL.

Click and drag

Release when you see this icon

THE EMAIL WILL POPULATE THE SUBJECT OF THE CALENDAR ENTRY WITH THE EMAIL’S SUBJECT LINE. THE EVENT DESCRIPTION WILL BE POPULATED BY THE BODY OF THE EMAIL.

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CREATING CALENDAR ENTRIES USING EMAIL TO MODIFY THE EVENT, USE THE NUMBERED ITEMS BELOW:

Location: Add a location (optional) to say where the event is taking place Start/End Time: Modify the time of the entry to reflect the time of the event

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CREATING CALENDAR ENTRIES USING EMAIL

The event is now added to your calendar

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USING “OUTLOOK TODAY”

1. CLICK ON THE NAME OF

YOUR EMAIL ACCOUNT ON THE LEFT NAVIGATION BAR

TO ACCESS “OUTLOOK

TODAY”.

OUTLOOK TODAY PROVIDES YOU A VIEW OF YOUR UPCOMING CALENDAR EVENTS, YOUR TASK LIST, AND YOUR UNREAD MESSAGES. THIS IS AN

EFFECTIVE WAY OF MANAGING YOUR DAILY/WEEKLY SCHEDULE.

2. CLICK ON “CUSTOMIZE

OUTLOOK TODAY” IN

THE UPPER RIGHT-HAND CORNER TO CUSTOMIZE THE APPEARANCE.

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USING “OUTLOOK TODAY”

3. CLICK ON THE CHECKBOX IN THE “STARTUP” ROW TO USE OUTLOOK TODAY

AS YOUR STARTUP SCREEN. YOU CAN ALSO MODIFY THE AMOUNT OF DAYS

YOUR CALENDAR DISPLAYS, THE TYPES OF TASKS, AND CHANGE THE LAYOUT

OF OUTLOOK TODAY.

4. CLICKING ON THE NAMES OF THE COLUMNS WILL NAVIGATE YOU DIRECTLY TO

THE CORRESPONDING AREA.

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CREATING AN EMAIL SIGNATURE

1. START A NEW EMAIL BY

LEFT-CLICKING ON THE

“NEW EMAIL” BUTTON IN

THE “HOME” TAB OF THE

RIBBON.

2. LEFT-CLICK ON THE

“INSERT” TAB, THEN LEFT- CLICK ON THE “SIGNATURE” DROP

DOWN. LEFT-CLICK ON

THE “SIGNATURES…”

LINK.

3. LEFT-CLICK ON THE

“NEW” BUTTON TO CREATE A NEW

SIGNATURE.

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CREATING AN EMAIL SIGNATURE

4. ENTER A NAME FOR THE

SIGNATURE, THEN LEFT- CLICK ON “OK”.

5. ENTER THE INFORMATION YOU WANT TO LIST FOR YOUR SIGNATURE

(EX. NAME, TITLE, COMPANY, PHONE

NUMBER, EMAIL

ADDRESS).

WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED, LEFT-CLICK THE “OK” BUTTON.

Note: Your font size/style is editable. You can also add pictures and hyperlinks in your

signature!

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CREATE COMMON RESPONSES TO EMAIL REQUESTS THROUGH SIGNATURES

1. START A NEW EMAIL BY

LEFT-CLICKING ON THE

“NEW EMAIL” BUTTON IN

THE “HOME” TAB OF THE

RIBBON.

2. LEFT-CLICK ON THE

“INSERT” TAB, THEN LEFT- CLICK ON THE

“SIGNATURE” DROP

DOWN. LEFT-CLICK ON

THE “SIGNATURES…”

LINK.

3. LEFT-CLICK ON THE

“NEW” BUTTON TO CREATE A NEW

SIGNATURE.

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CREATE COMMON RESPONSES TO EMAIL REQUESTS THROUGH SIGNATURES

4. TYPE THE MESSAGE YOU

WOULD LIKE TO SEND, OR COPY AND PASTE AN

EXISTING RESPONSE INTO

THE BODY OF THE

SIGNATURE. LEFT-CLICK

THE “OK” BUTTON WHEN

YOU ARE FINISHED.

5. START A NEW EMAIL OR REPLY TO AN EXISTING

EMAIL. LEFT-CLICK ON

THE “INSERT” TAB, THEN

LEFT-CLICK ON THE

“SIGNATURE” DROP DOWN TO SELECT YOUR

RESPONSE.

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CREATE COMMON RESPONSES TO EMAIL REQUESTS THROUGH SIGNATURES

6. ADD THE SUBJECT, AND THEN ADD THE CUSTOMER’S NAME IN THE BODY OF

THE EMAIL. WHEN YOU ARE FINISHED, LEFT-CLICK ON THE “SEND” BUTTON TO SEND THE EMAIL.

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