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PAE
What is email etiquette? well so that your emails are professional but
Email etiquette refers to how you conduct also appropriate for the environment you work
yourself when sending or responding to in. Follow this list of 14 rules below:
emails. Expectations vary depending on the
organisation and your audience, but there 1. Use a professional email address
are some general email rules that apply If you’re an employee at a company, you
when you’re at work. As with all professional likely have a company email address. Use
communication, the way you conduct yourself this rather than your personal email address
via email at work is different from when you’re for all work-related correspondence. If you do
writing to friends and family. use a personal email address, for example,
if you’re a freelancer, choose the address
Why does email etiquette matter? carefully. Your name or a slight variation
Email manners are important because a on this is a sensible choice so that you still
small mistake can have serious professional present yourself in a professional way. Save
consequences or cause confusion. Therefore, humorous email addresses for personal
it’s wise to have a thorough understanding of correspondence.
the appropriate etiquette when you’re sending
emails. Some companies have best practice 2. Always include a clear and concise
rules for email communication. The purpose subject line
of this is to promote efficiency and clarity and A clear subject line means your recipient
to give a professional image to individual instantly knows what your email is about
employees and the business as a whole. and allows them to prioritise it accordingly.
Subject lines that are vague or very long
The way you communicate also reflects the can be confusing and could mean that the
type of employee you are, including your recipient misses important correspondence.
work ethic and attention to detail. Email Good examples of an email subject line are
correspondence might be the first impression ‘Rescheduling today’s meeting’ or ‘Question
some people get of you. For example, if you about your presentation’.
work at a very large organisation or use email
to contact external partners and clients. This 3. Use standard fonts and formatting
means that the right etiquette is essential for Use standard fonts, formats and colours
presenting yourself well.
in every email. This means that it looks
professional when the recipient opens it and
Etiquette guidelines for writing emails is easy to read. As a general rule, black is the
We’ve compiled a list of 14 rules to follow most appropriate colour to use for text unless
for good etiquette when writing emails. there’s a good reason for using another
Apply these rules regardless of whether colour. Be aware that pasting text into your
you’re communicating with colleagues, email can cause formatting issues. Make sure
clients or partner organisations. Remember you clear formatting or only paste unformatted
your organisation’s company culture and text to ensure your email formatting is
communication best practice guidelines as
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