netiquette
TRANSCRIPT
Business Netiquette
and
Dallas Bragg, Director of Recruiting and
Training
Mountain State University
February 17, 2010
Why Netiquette?
“Originally designed as a tool of
convenience, email has now become an
overused and often abused
communication choice that carries a hefty
cost in terms of inefficiencies,
misunderstandings, and potential
litigation.”
--Debra Hamilton
www.businesslunchandlearn.com
$450,000
Wasted
Time
This is a real email chain:
To: Dallas Bragg
From: Susie Q
Subject: <blank>
The meeting will
be tomorrow
to discuss the
big event
coming up in
April.
Thank you,
To: Susie Q
From: Dallas Bragg
Re: Clarification of
Meeting
Susie Q,
Thank you for inviting
me to the meeting
tomorrow, however
could you please
clarify:
1) The time
2) The place
3) The subject
Thank you,
To: Dallas Bragg
From: Susie Q
Re: Clarification of
Meeting
Dallas,
The meeting is at 9am.
Thank you,
And it went on
from there!
Common Mistakes:
Which is your pet peeve?
Which is your bad habit?
Emoticons
What did we do before it?
Reply to All
Flaming Emails
ALL CAPS
Acronyms/Abbreviations
Fonts
You will really annoy EVERYONE who
reads an email like this.
It really doesn’t matter if it is
REALLY FUNNY
Or not.
Unnecessary Subjects
Some examples I’ve seen:
• Hope you are sitting!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• You will never believe this!
• Hey
• She is such a bi#@$!
• You must read this NOW!
• Can you review this before I send it? (sent
to someone else before sending to me)
Chains and Jokes
CC, Bcc, and Fwd
High Priority!
Emailing/Texting During
Meetings
Correspondence
About Emails
They are not
documents; readers
want the information
right away!
Example
For Your Information
• Subject Announcement
• First Outcome
• Second Outcome
• Goodwill Close
About Emails
Write your email
as if it will be
skimmed!
Example
Summary of a Conference Call
• Subject Announcement
• Declaration
• Subject Area
• Facts
• Goodwill Close
About Emails
Simplify and Use
Positive
Language.
Example
Refusal to Participate
• Subject Announcement
• Praise
• Refusal
• Goodwill Close
About Emails
Hold the Fancy
Vocabulary,
Keep the Tense Simple,
and
Watch the Indents.
Example
Change in Policy
• Subject Announcement
• Obligation
• Former Policy
• Current Policy
• Required Step
• Goodwill Close
Let’s Practice!
Problem in the office
• Subject Announcement
• Situation
• Complication
• Solution
• Goodwill Close
Let’s Practice!
Motivating an Employee
• Subject Announcement
• Confidence
• Comparison
• Advice
• Goodwill Close
Tips and Tricks
• Always, always, always:
– Use spell checker
• Spelling and grammar!
– Proofread
• Content, tone, structure
• Consider the reader
– Objectives, casual or professional?, will this be
shared with others, length of time with company,
any previous flames?, etc.
• Emails are legal documents!
Sometimes You
Just Need to Pick
up the Phone!
