Want to Impress People in Writing? Use These Five Tips For Workplace Email Etiquette

Have you ever received an email from a co-worker that you couldn't understand? Maybe the email was poorly written or punctuation was not used. What was your impression when you received it? Did you think that they were highly educated? Or did you wonder how they were still employed in spite of their communication skills? The important question though is how do you think people react to the emails that you send at work? Do they think you are qualified and talented? Or do they think that you are the uneducated one. Regardless of how you want to look at it, your workplace email etiquette will have an influence in the minds of other people. If you want to use your influence to get ahead in the workplace, follow these five simple tips: Five Tips For Workplace Email Etiquette That Wins 1. Do not use all CAPS in the email - In the online world, people equate all caps to mean that you are angry or yelling. I had a boss once that used all capital letters in his emails so that the letters were large enough for him to see. He did not realize that other people in the company perceived that he was always angry. Follow this simple rule to avoid offending people. 2. Avoid abbreviations in your email - Every business has their own terminology and abbreviations. However, for the benefit of the people reading your email, avoid using abbreviations as much as possible. There is nothing worse than someone not understanding your email all because they do not understand one abbreviation. Make sure your communication is straight-forward and easy to understand. 3. Re-read your emails before you send them - There are so many occasions when emails have been sent with one word omitted or misspelled that changed the entire meaning of the email. Spell check will not find every single error, so make sure you go through the email prior to clicking on the send button. Also, you want to re-read for clarity. Think about how the person will react when they receive it. Will they understand? What will their reaction be? Think about the reader of the email as you are reviewing to make sure that it is appropriate. 4. Be Concise - Do not bore the reader because you want to send a long email. In today's busy world, people will take notice when you save their time be being brief and to the point. That is the kind of influence you want to have on people. 5. If you send an email with an attachment, make mention of it in the body of the email - This is proper email manners. There are many cases where people send an email without attaching the file and the person never knew there was supposed to be one. Briefly mentioning the file in the email will alert the reader that there is more to your email. If you follow these simple steps, your email etiquette will win over your co-workers. They will not dread receiving communication from you because they know that it will be relevant and important. The more you can positively influence others with your etiquette, the more people will be drawn to you. In the workplace, having influence over the minds of others opens a lot of doors for you.