
That means proper sentence structure, capitalization, punctuation and resisting the temptation to litter your message with emojis.ġ7. Stick with all of the traditional writing rules you learned in school. After all, if something takes pages of text to explain, you’re probably better off doing it in person or over the phone.ġ6. This is another spot where you’ll want to be as clear and concise as possible-you can likely just consider that the golden rule of emailing. Make sure you’re keeping up with these etiquette rules, and your messages are sure to be polished and professional.ġ5. But, that doesn’t mean you want your emails to transform into total unorganized messes.

Yes, workplace communications have becoming increasingly casual. The other fields are important, but this is where you’ll really make it clear why you’re contacting the person in the first place. Here it is-the meat and potatoes of your message. Nobody likes seeing that ominous “No Subject” in his or her inbox. No matter how big of a hurry you’re in, don’t skip the subject field entirely. Try to stick with fewer than 10 words-anything longer than that can likely be its own sentence.ġ4. While you want it to be specific, that doesn’t mean it needs to be its own standalone paragraph. Plus, it’ll make it that much easier to find it when you need it later.ġ3. Make your subject line specific, rather than relying on vague phrases like “Checking In.” This allows your recipients to immediately glean what your message is about. A bad subject? Well, let’s just say it can inspire a great deal of aggravation among your recipients.ġ2. What’s the first part of your message that people will lay eyes on? That’s easy: your subject.Īs you already know, a great subject line can work wonders for your email as a whole. Too many cooks in the kitchen will likely just lead to confusion and crossed wires. With all of that said, the fewer people you can include on an email, the better. In contrast, if you CC that person, you’re simply keeping him in the loop on your message to others.ġ1. Here’s a handy rule to keep in mind: Listing someone in the “To” field means you expect a response. Don’t be afraid to use BCC, especially in those instances when you don’t want all of the addresses or recipients to be visible to everyone.ġ0. Proceed with caution when using “Reply All,” and only use it when everyone in that thread needs to be updated. Have you gone against any of these etiquette rules in regards to your recipient list?Ĩ. But, let’s turn the spotlight on you for a minute. They’re all things you probably gripe about-at least when other people commit them. Those teammates who seem to have no clue what that handy BCC field is for. Co-workers who continue to CC you on messages that have absolutely nothing to do with you. Sign up here to get top career advice delivered straight to your inbox every week.

Subscribe To The Forbes Careers Newsletter A great tip to help you keep your responses in check? Muse cofounder Alex Cavoulacos recommends that the faster you respond, the shorter your answer should be. Instead, reply and confirm that you received it-and notify the sender that you’re going to take a little bit of time to think things through.ħ. If the message deserves a little more time and thought, don’t fire off a half-assed, immediate response just to get it off your plate. You don’t want to leave people hanging.Ħ. As a general rule, respond to emails as soon as you’re realistically able to. It makes your entire message feel much more complete, polished and professional.Įffective timing is one of those things that’s all too easy to forget about when you’re doing your best to power your way through your inbox.īut, if you’ve ever received an immediate one-word response to a thoughtful, lengthy message, or you’ve waited weeks to get a reply you were anxiously waiting for, I think you’ll agree that timing is worthy of a little more consideration.ĥ. Firing off something in the heat of the moment will only result in problems.ģ.

If you’ve received an angry message or are feeling enraged yourself, step away from the computer for a few minutes. You want to make the right impression, and isn’t going to cut it.Ģ.
#EMAIL NETIQUETTE PROFESSIONAL#
If you’re sending from a personal address-for a job application or informational interview, for example-make sure your address is still professional sounding. Even if you ignore or forget every single other part of this article, at the very least make sure you’ve checked these boxes.ġ.
