E-mail etiquette do's and don'ts

July 3, 3:33 AMSF Workplace Communication ExaminerKenya McCullum

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In E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide, author Janis Fisher Chan gives practical tips about how to avoid e-mail faux pas like the ones we have seen from Sarah Palin, Mark Sanford, and Elizabeth Becton in recent weeks. Some do’s and don’ts that she addresses include:

• Do think about what you’ve written before you send your e-mail. A little attention to what we say now can save us a lot of grief later, but too often we hit send before thinking our message through. “We do that all the time. You fire off an e-mail and you don’t think about your tone, you don’t think about your language, and you don’t think much about the person on the other end at all,” Chan told me. “You just want to get the e-mail off and go on with your business.”
• Don’t get caught up in e-mail arguments and other back-and-forth exchanges on an issue when it’s not going anywhere. Likewise, don’t send unnecessary e-mails, such as multiple messages thanking someone—or in the case of the "Don't call me Liz!" episode, apologizing to them.
• Do proofread your e-mails before you send them out. Messages sent to colleagues with errors make you look careless and unprofessional.
• Don’t copy everyone under the sun on an e-mail. According to CBS News, when Sarah Palin did not get the answer she wanted from campaign aides, she proceeded to copy others on her e-mail response—presumably to get supporters to rally behind her. However, it’s best to only copy people on e-mails who need the information you are sending.
• Do remember that e-mail is public and permanent. Mark Sanford may have thought that the sweet nothings he wrote to his mistress were for her eyes only, but he learned the hard way that his private thoughts could easily be made public. Any number of circumstances—like accidental forwards of your message or monitoring by your employer—can give your e-mail a much longer shelf-life than you intended.

Part One: E-mail etiquette and the mailboxes of Sarah Palin, Mark Sanford, and Elizabeth Becton


Related Reading:
Characteristics of e-mail communication
Don’t call me Liz!: Elizabeth Becton incident illustrates workplace communication breakdown


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