Email Etiquette
First of all, I am having a really bad sore throat and running a slight fever. It is Monday and everyone around me is grouchy. Before I start to pack my luggage (going for holiday) and go to bed to try to get rid of the fever, I am going to write this short entry on "email etiquette". It may feel like an outdated topic to be talking about but I am often thrown off by people's poor manners in emails. With today's advancing technology and more people getting into social networking, using different online tools to communicate, all the more we should have the basic understanding and practice on email/ online etiquette.
Today, my colleague complained about a client who sends his emails in CAPS. How you write an email says alot of about you. One major NO NO in writing an email is to avoid writing in uppercase letters. It looks and feels like you are shouting (rudely).
I personally hate those emails that don't even start with "HI, XXX...." and launched straight into "I WANT TO SEE UPDATES BY 5PM AND SEND THE DOCUMENT BEFORE MEETING"
Notice what's wrong with that sentence? It says alot about the sender. There is no "greetings", no "thank you", no "please", it's in ALL CAPS and the tone is demanding rather than polite request of information as what professional business people should do. Many people think that because they are not seeing you face to face, it is perfectly fine to forget all the greetings and the etiqutte.
My nose is starting to run now and I have to go to bed and continue to ponder...
2 comments:
Sounds like a bad case of too much ego in that person who sent the email.
I find that the written word is always stronger and harsher compared to the spoken one. This is a reason why we must be careful about our language when emailing others. Misunderstandings and unhappiness often occur from misuse of email, and that's something that we definitely don't need!
it happens alot in agency. While we are trained to be very detailed, polite and professional in our emails, we often get nasty ones back from clients and sometimes, the media. It is frustrating.
Post a Comment