Research has found that the average worker spends 28 percent of their workweek reading and answering email. With so much time being spent on email, it’s critical to understand proper email etiquette and some of the essential do’s and don’ts. Here are three specific rules to follow.
- Address Recipients Professionally
It’s important you aren’t too casual when wording your salutations. For instance, you wouldn’t want to say something like “What’s Up?” or “Yo.” It’s also suggested you avoid using “Hey” when first making contact. The only time it would be okay to use “Hey” is if you’ve already established rapport and have built a strong relationship that’s more casual in nature.
Most experts agree it’s best to address email recipients by using “Hi” or “Hello.” Both are professional in tone and virtually fail-safe.
Also, when addressing someone by their first name, you should stick with the full version unless you know for a fact they want to be addressed by a shorter version. For instance, you would say “Hi Nicholas” rather than “Hi Nick.”
- Stay Away From Humor and Sarcasm
There’s definitely a time and a place for these things, and workplace emails aren’t them. Saying the wrong thing even with the best of intentions can make you come across as rude and crude and can easily sour business relationships.
Keep in mind that subtle verbal cues along with tone and inflection can easily be misinterpreted through email, which means the recipient may take something the wrong way. For this reason, it’s better to leave out humor and sarcasm altogether.
- Always Proofread
Many people are busy when sending or replying to emails. Therefore, they have a tendency to rush through and send without fully proofreading. This is problematic because it’s all too easy to have small spelling or grammatical errors that are going to look incredibly unprofessional to the party who’s reading the email. Before pressing “Send,” take a few moments to read over the contents of an email and correct any errors.
Following these three tips can alleviate a lot of issues that can pop up when sending and receiving workplace emails. Doing so should raise your level of professionalism and optimize your digital communication.
Looking for more helpful insights on thriving at your job search and career? Check out the Encadria Staffing Solutions blog.