Sourced from Career One printed paper Saturday November 17, 2012
1) If on a dial-up internet connection, check email at least morning and night. The idea behind using email is that it’s speedy.
2) Reply promptly. Even if you can’t answer a particular question, it’s still important to acknowledge the email. Generate an automatic reply if away from the office.
3) Give a clear heading in the subject field so the message stands out.
4) Take care about sending jokes, which could cause offence.
5) Address the receiver as either ‘‘Dear Ray’’ or ‘‘Good morning John’’ and people you don’t know as Dr, Mr, Mrs, Miss or Ms. For more casual emails, ‘‘Hi’’ is fine.
6) Never send an email if tired, angry or you’ve had too many alcoholic drinks.
7) Business emails shouldn’t include electronic hieroglyphics to give non-verbal messages. If you feel the need to end an email with a :) it probably means you suspect the message you’ve written has been too brief or too sharp.
8) Design an electronic signature, which includes your full name, address and telephone number.
9) Adopt an appropriate tone to suit the receiver. For example, emails to a colleague may be chatty but for a client, adopt a more business-like approach.
10) Pay attention to spelling andgrammar, even if you write in staccato form.
Source: Business Etiquette. Keep your competitive edge and maintain successful business networks by Patsy Rowe
