Email etiquette: Keep them short, simple, and respect the reader’s time
Try not to include
abbreviations, industry jargon and corporate buzzwords in your emails.
Here’s what busy workers don’t have
time to tolerate: Any email that fails to include a subject line. People don’t
go to their inboxes for treasure hunts.
Any
email that only says ‘Hi!’ holds too much danger behind that fake friendship.
Any email written in all caps is hard to read. The same goes for a gray blob of
italics or other odd scripts. Decades after email became the common conveyance
for workplace messages, a lot of people are still clueless or uncaring about
how to use it appropriately.
A
new Robert Half survey of executives said they reported wasting 17% of their
time on “unproductive emails.” But here’s the thing: You often don’t know if
it’s unproductive until you’ve opened it and at least given it a cursory
glance.
Company
spam filters do a decent job of filtering out foreign language spam, porn and,
usually, direct sales pitches. But annoyances still pile up in the inbox. One
of the biggest peeves is the rambling message that buries the lead. One needs
to include a brief, descriptive subject line and an initial sentence that says
exactly what the email is about.
Two
paragraphs is a good limit. Be respectful of your readers’ time. If you need to
convey more detail, include an attachment or propose a follow-up phone call.
Try
not to include abbreviations, industry jargon and corporate buzzwords in your
emails. Phrases such as “rationalizing the cost structure,” “optimizing human
resources” and “shifting economic leverage” don’t say anything meaningful to
most readers.
Know
your target audience. If you’re writing only to industry insiders, it’s fine to
use insider language. If you want anyone else to understand, translate and
simplify.
One of the common offenses is abuse of
“reply all.” Whatever the original topic, be careful about “reply all.” Careers
have been killed when “private” emails were shared. And thumbs down on wading
through a long response chain. You are better off starting a fresh new email.
Source | Hindustan Times | 21 June 2016
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Manager @ Library
Khaitan
& Co
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