Email Etiquette:

Keeping Your Foot

Out of Your Virtual
Mouth
How is it spelled?
 email
 Email
 eMail
 EMail
 e-mail
 E-mail
 e-Mail
 E-Mail
How is it spelled?
 Gregg, Microsoft, and AP: e-mail
 Wired: email
 Email Experience Council:
email is standard
Email etiquette is
evolving too

 E-mail has quickly become a

communication standard and the
Internet’s most popular application.
Both the number of e-mail users and

the usage rates are continuing to

grow exponentially.
Mischelle Davis, V.P. of marketing communications at NewWorldIQ
Where are we now?
 Right now
online writing
is pretty much
in its Wild West
stage, a free-
for-all with
everybody
shooting from
the hip and no
sheriff in sight.
O’Conner & Kellerman (2002)
If you were sheriff…
 What would be your rules?

Madlantern
Arts
What makes email
different?
Difference: No nonverbal
cues
No nonverbal cues,
which
account for ___________
percent of message
Nonverbal cues
 No nonverbal cues,
which
account for 65 - 93
percent
of message
 Only words and :-)
Difference: Tone

No nonverbal cues

Tone becomes crucial
Difference: Tone

No nonverbal cues

Tone becomes crucial
In Germany and Britain, 23
percent
and 14 percent respectively
[of
respondents to a Daily Mail
survey]
admitted confrontations with
colleagues because of e-mail
misunderstandings.
Criticisms are harsher
 Messages meant to
express
mild displeasure can come
across
as tirades.
Louise Dobson, Avoiding Email Catastrophes
(2006)
Tone: Example One
To: Female employees
From: H. Honcho
Re: Dress code
Date: 1 July 2006

Clients will be visiting next week. Halter tops

and jeans will not make the right impression.
It’s time you started dressing for the office
instead of the beach. Leave your flip-flops at
home!
Tone: Example Two
To: All staff
From: H. Honcho
Re: Reminder about what to wear to work
Date: 1 July 2006

During the summer, our dress code is business casual. We

think “business casual” means clothes that feel comfortable
and look professional.

Men Women
•khaki pants •casual pants and skirts
•leather shoes… •leather or fabric shoes…
Tips: Tone
 Avoid terseness, which
can be misinterpreted
 Use face-to-face
communication if issue
is sensitive
 Read your emails
aloud, looking for
ambiguity
For want of a smiley…?
 Rob Glaser asked to
meet with Bill Gates
 Gates said no, in a
“cold and flip email”
 Glazer denounced
Microsoft at anti-trust
hearings
Difference: Humor
 Humor is riskier
Humor: Riskier
 Nearly a quarter of employees have
suffered problems with colleagues or
clients because their use of humour in an
email has not been understood or
appreciated, according to a survey.
Robert Jacques, “Email Jokes Backfire
for UK Workers” (2004)
Humor: Often
misinterpreted
 Participants [in recent studies]
were able to accurately
communicate humor and
sarcasm in ________ percent of
the emails they sent.
Louise Dobson (2006)
Humor: Often
misinterpreted
 Participants [in recent studies] were
able to accurately communicate humor
and sarcasm in barely half --
56 percent -- of the emails they sent.
Louise Dobson (2006)
Tips: Humor
 If in doubt, don’t send it.
Chevron was forced to pay $2.2 million
to settle a harassment case based in part

on emails with such subjects as “Why

beer
is better than women.”

 Reread for ambiguities.

 Signal the joke.
One emoticon or <grin> per email is plenty.
Humor: Tips in action
 If you [ignore these rules], the
great list guru will expel you
into the gloomy dimension
without email and your days
will be long and lonely after
you have made a permanent
impression in print for many to
keep and repeat forever
<grin> (see how the use of
email "emoticons" aids the
assimilation of that last
paragraph!).
Bonnie Dalzell, Welcome Message
Difference: Levels of
formality
 Most people view email as
 more formal than a phone call
 less formal than a letter
Meeting request: Informal
From: Bob Anderson <anderson@rand-unix>
Date: 21 Dec 84 11:40:12 PST (Fri)
To: randvax!anderson, randvax!gillogly,
randvax!norm
Subject: meeting ...

we need to setup a meeting bet. jim you and i -- can you

arange?

i'm free next wed. thks.

Meeting agenda: Formal
Subject: MEETING ON FY86 PLANNING, 2PM
12/28/84, CONFERENCE ROOM 1
There will be a meeting of the FY86 planning task force in
Conference Room 1 on December 28, 1984 at 2pm. The
Agenda for the meeting is:
--------------------------------------- Topic Presenter
Time
--------------------------------------- Strategic Business Plan John Fowles
30 min.
Budget Forecast for FY86 Sue Martin 15 "
New Product Announcements Peter Wilson 20 "
Action Items for 1st Qtr FY86 Jane Adamson 25 "

-----------------------------------------------------------
Tip: Spelling still counts
This is an actual email.
Purposal
I can beat almost anyones price and almost
promise you success and if I don’t reach it,
we wont charge you after the time we say we
can achieve it until we do.
Tip: Spelling still counts
 Sloppiness is one of “seven deadly e-
mail sins”
 Bad grammar, misspelling and
disconnected arguments gave 81
percent of the survey sample "negative
feelings" towards the senders.
 41 percent of senior managers said
badly worded e-mails implied laziness
and even disrespect.
CNN.com
Tip: Level of Formality
 When in doubt, err on the side
of formality.
Tip: Level of Formality
 When in doubt, err on the side
of formality.
Usually the problem is that we treat
[e-mail] too much like a phone call
and not enough like a letter.
O’Conner and Kellerman (2002)
Tip: Level of Formality
 When in doubt, err on the side of
formality.
16% [of email users under 25] sign
every message with love and kisses,
even when addressing their boss
MSN survey
Tip: Level of Formality
 Be conversational.
An overly formal e-mail message
alienates the reader. Don’t adopt a
cold, remote, or superior tone in an
attempt to sound professional.
Angell and Heslop
(2002)
Difference: Level of
Formality
Questions to which answers are
evolving:
 Do I need a subject line?
 Should I email a thank-you note
after a job interview?
 Should I communicate bad news
via email?
Difference: Electronic
 Hit Send and it’s gone
 Hit Reply All and your career
may be gone
 Deleted emails live on
 Messages can be forwarded
without your knowledge or consent
Tip: What not to do
 One of the officers convicted of
beating Rodney King sent this email:

Oops. I haven’t beaten anyone

so bad in a long time.

A transcript of the message was used

at his trial.
Tip: Electronic
 Colonel David Russell’s rule:
Never say anything in an electronic
message
that you wouldn't want appearing, and
attributed to you, in tomorrow morning’s
front-page headline in the New York
Times.
Tip: Email is never
private
 Pillsbury assured employees that
emails
were private.
 Michael Smyth was fired after sending
an email calling his bosses
“backstabbing bastards.”
 A court held that he had no reasonable
expectation of privacy.
Tip: Keep confidences
 To cope with many questions about
vacation policy, an HR minion emailed
a copy to all employees.
 Attached was salary information.
 Within weeks, 20% of the workforce
was gone—including the hapless
minion.
Tip: Electronic ≠ Instant
 Many expect a phone call to alert
them
to an email labeled Urgent.
 Allow a reasonable time (two days –
week)
for a response.
 Respond before senders have to follow
up
or business is delayed.
When would you use
email?
 To send confidential salary information
 To address a personal hygiene issue
 To get an immediate reply
 To settle a conflict between two team
members
 To request a manual for the new phone
system
 To recap a conversation about a pending
order
 To set up a meeting next month
 To keep people updated on a project’s status
When would you use
email?
 To send confidential salary information
 To address a personal hygiene issue
 To get an immediate reply
 To settle a conflict between two team
members
 To request a manual for the new phone
system
 To recap a conversation about a pending
order
 To set up a meeting next month
 To keep people updated on a project’s status
Difference: Where’s
audience?
 People who wouldn't dream of burping
at the end of dinner post offensive messages to
international forums.
 Middle managers inadvertently send romantic email
messages to the
company-wide email alias.
 People at computer terminals forget that there are
real live people on the other end of the wire.
Virginia Shea, Netiquette (1994)
Three manners mavens:
Shea
 Virginia Shea is
“Miss Manners
of the ’Net”
 Pioneered netiquette
in 1994
 Book available online at
http://www.albion.com/
catNetiquette.html
Three manners mavens:
Shea
Typing in all capitals in
electronic communications
means
(A) Nothing special--typing in all caps
is normal.
(B) You are shouting.
(C) It’s OK to forward this message to
others.
(D) This message is very important.
Three manners mavens:
Shea
Typing in all capitals in
electronic communications
means
(B) You are shouting.
Typing in all capitals in online
communications is
the equivalent of SHOUTING! Only type in all
caps
if you really mean to shout.
Three mavens: Booher
 Communications
consultant
Dianna Booher is
“Miss Manners
of memos”
 Good tips for
writers
 Blog available online at
http://www.amazon.com/
Three mavens: Kallos
 Judith Kallos is
“Miss eManners”
 Best source
for specific advice
on business email
etiquette
 Site:
NetManners.com
Style mavens: O’Conner
Email’s “very structure … encourages
curtness.”
 The blank subject line staring you in the
face
is a signal to state your business and get
on with it….
 The To and From fields seem to make
salutations and signatures redundant or
unnecessary.
 What we have here is the ideal breeding
ground for rudeness.
Anatomy of email: To
To: My Entire Address Book
From: H. Honcho
Re: Nothing important
Date: 1 July,2006
Anatomy of email: To
To: You mad mustachio purple-hued
maltworm
Bcc: Henry IV, part 1
From: I. Rate
Re: So-called service at your crummy
excuse for a store today
Tip: Use BCC wisely

 To keep addresses private,

put
your own address in the To:
line
and paste your mailing list
in the
cc: line
 BCCs within an organization
can create distrust
Tip: Leave address blank

 If you’re furious and must

answer
an email right away, leave
the
address line blank.
 If you hit Send before you’ve
had
a chance to cool down, the
email
Anatomy of email: From
Would you open mail from
 Vampyra@Goths_’R_Us.net
 Boogers2007@hotmail.com
 Dunno dunno@yahoo.com
Anatomy of email: From
E-mail recipients put more
weight on who the e-mail is
from than any other item
when choosing
which e-mails to open
which to delete
which to complain about

Chris Baggot, ExactTarget

Anatomy of email: From
Be complete and be
recognized.

Kathy Towner, WIN Communications

Anatomy of an email:
Subject
 Your subject can answer any of readers’
four key questions:
1. What’s this about?
2. Why should I read this?
3. What’s in this for me?
4. What am I being asked to do?
Anatomy of email:
Subject
To: Girrrl friends
From: Ima Ditz
Re: Change of plans
Anatomy of email:
Subject
To: Sara Bellum
From: Gray Matter
Re: Marketing meeting rescheduled
for 12/15/06
Anatomy of email:
Subject
To: Sara Bellum
From: Gray Matter
Re: Marketing meeting rescheduled
for 12/15/06 (EOM)

EOM = end of message

Tips: Subject
 Lead with the main idea
Browsers may not display more than first 25-35
characters

 Create single-subject messages

 Keep track of threads
Subject: New Year’s Party Plans
(was: New Year-End Bonus Structure)
More Tips: Subject
Double-check the address line before
sending.
Insulted by a general email from the
boss,
an employee sent an angry comment to
a
colleague (she thought): “Does she think

we’re stupid?”
 The reply (from her boss): “Yes, I do.”
Anatomy of an email:
Body
 Before you type anything into a new
message, have explicit answers for
two questions:
1. Why am I writing this?
2. What exactly do I want the result
of this message to be?
43 Folders (2005)
Anatomy of an email:
Body
 Before you hit Send, review and
delete
 Negative comments about management
 Criticisms of staff or performance issues
 Bonuses or salary issues
 Product or liability issues
 Gossip
 Humor or other ambiguities
Booher
Anatomy of email: Body
 Write so emails are easy to read
 Make paragraphs 7-8 lines
 Insert a blank line between paragraphs
 Use headlines, bullets, and numbers
 AVOID ALL CAPS; THAT’S SHOUTING
 If a message is longer than 3 screens,
send an attachment
Anatomy of email: Body
Subject: Noise level in the break
rooms
How can we satisfy everyone?
Many of you have told me about the growing
tension you feel around using the break
rooms. Some of you use them to work and
socialize; others need a quiet place to work.
Your ideas are welcome
What do you think we can do about this?
Should we designate one room as a lounge
and another as a quiet area?
Tip: Balance
formal/informal
 Like our work clothes,
the preferred writing style
has become business
casual.
 Avoid extremes
 Not too pompous
 Not too passive
 Not too careless or flip
Diana Booher
Tip: Avoid brusqueness
 Brief is good. Blunt is not.
 Question: Should I
pursue an advanced
degree?
 Response 1: No.
 Response 2: I don’t
think an advanced
degree would have any
effect on your potential
for promotion here.
Tip: Write business
casual
 Strive for a style
somewhere between
stuffed-shirt and t-shirt.

Diana Booher
Question: Do I need a
greeting?
 Consensus: Yes.
Otherwise, you can seem
brusque or unfriendly.
Question: Which
greeting?
 Opinion: Divided
 Some say “Hi, Steve,” is too
informal.
 Some say “To whom it may
concern” is stilted.
 For external
communication, use same
greeting as in letter
 For internal communication,
some use Myra:
Question: Which closing?
 Consensus
 Match greeting in tone
 Formal: Sincerely, Best
regards, Cordially
 Informal: Thanks; All the best,
Talk to you later
 Use a sig line that gives
your name, title, and
contact information
 Omit a P. S.
(if the email is longer than a
screen,
a postscript could be missed)
Question: Email thank-
you?
 36 percent of employers
on Monster prefer thank-
you notes sent by email
 29 percent prefer
traditional letters
Why netiquette?
 The electronic equivalent of a set
of fussy rules that tell you … which fork
to use with the salad course?
 Netiquette does not consist of a set
of rigid rules.
 It encourages you to adopt a certain
attitude
of thoughtfulness.
Gregg Reference Manual, 10th ed.
Suggested resources
 Available at
http://word-crafter.net/email.html
 Articles
 Best practices for email marketing
 Grammar help
 Test your netiquette