The Dos and Don'ts of email etiquette in English.

Today’s lesson: The Dos & Don’ts of email etiquette in English

Lesson Title

The Dos & Don’ts of email etiquette

Duration: 60 minutes
Level: Upper intermediate or Advancede

Email me!

Email is a very common way to communication in both personal and professional settings. While it may seem like a simple task, there are some basic etiquette guidelines that should be followed to ensure that your emails are clear, concise, and professional.

The Dos & Don’ts of email etiquette in English.

While we try to work faster and more efficiently, we must not forget the social rules that accompany any form of communication. Here are some of the dos and don’ts of email etiquette.

Stick with one email thread (fio de meada) for the same topic.

If you are used to sending out separate emails for the same project whenever you have a new idea or follow-up question, it’s a good idea to stop.

But if you think about it from the recipient’s point of view, they’re missing the context from the original email thread and multiple new emails on the same topic just clog up their inboxes unnecessarily. So the general rule of thumb here is to stick to the original email chain for any given topic so everyone can refer to the same information.

Explain why you added in or took out recipients in email threads.

There are many situations where you have to add someone into the email thread to get their input, or take someone out to spare their inbox. A professional and easy way to do this is to add a sentence at the very top of the email clearly showing who you added in or took out.

Ex: I have added Simone to this email as she is a specialist in this area.

Be objective.

This tip addresses a hang-up of mine, which is when senders include a lot of information up front, but what they’re really trying to get at or ask for is at the very end of the email. To avoid this, always include your main point first, followed by the context. Just compare these two emails:

Example 1

“Hi Joao, my name is Jackson and I’m in the product marketing team. We’re preparing a forecast deck for the big boss and he’s looking for the revenue projection numbers for the secret electric car that’s launching soon. Can I trouble you to pull that data for me?”

Example 2

“Hi Joao, may I please trouble you for the electric car revenue projection numbers?”

Context: the product marketing team is currently preparing a forecast deck for the big boss and we’re hoping to use the projections to fight for more budget.

TIP: By pushing the context back in paragraph number 2, we’re giving the other person the option to read the not so important part of the email.

Often, when we’re emailing someone more senior than us, we feel obligated to explain why we’re emailing right at the beginning so it doesn’t seem like we’re bothering them. This is actually counterproductive because if the person is very senior, they probably just want to know what you’re emailing them about so they can deal with it then move on with their own schedules.

Key facts to takeaway!
BE OBJECTIVE AND CLEAR AT ALL TIMES.

Think of your team or client when you are requesting information, don’t think you are bothering someone, think of it as good intergroup communication

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