Most of us use e-mail for our careers, but do you know if you're getting the most out of it? E-mail can be a very powerful tool to secure and retain clients, communicate with colleagues and provide electronic records. It is amazing to find that in this day and age, some professionals have still not realised how important their e-mail communications are. Do people respond to your e-mails in the way you want them to? Or do they seem to ignore them, or miss important information? And are you sure that you're making the best possible impression with your e-mails?

M a n y professionals send e-mail replies late or not at all, or send replies that do not actually answer the questions you asked. When you compose an e-mail message, there are some simple rules that you can follow to ensure that your e-mails make a positive impression, and get you the response you want.

Need of e-mail etiquette:

Using the phone to convey a simple message to a friend might involve a 10-15 minute conversation because no one wants to appear rude by hanging up too soon. In an increasingly busy world, e-mail allows the same message to be conveyed in a minute or two without implied rudeness. E-mail is an electronic version of a written Memorandum. A company needs to implement etiquette rules for the following three reasons:
• Professionalism: by using proper e-mail language your company will convey a p r o f e s s i o n a l image.
• Efficiency: emails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly worded emails.
• Protection from liability: employee awareness of e-mail risks will protect your company from costly law suits.

Subject Lines are Headlines

• A newspaper headline has two functions: It grabs your attention, and it tells you what the article is about, so that you can decide if you want to read further. E-mail subject lines need to do exactly the same thing! Use a few wellchosen words, so that the recipient knows at a glance what the e-mail is about.
• If your message is one of a regular series of emails, such as a weekly project report, include the date in the subject line. And for a message that needs a response, you might want to include a call to action, such as ‘Please reply by November 7’.
• Remember that everyone tries to reduce the amount of ‘spam’ e-mail messages they receive. If you make appropriate use of the subject line, you increase the chances that your e-mail will be read, rather than mistaken for spam and deleted without so much as a glance.

Bad Example

Subject: Meeting

Hi Anand,
I just wanted to remind you about the meeting we have scheduled next week. Do let me know if you have any questions!
Best wishes,
Bhanu

This e-mail is an example of poor communication for several reasons. Let's focus on the headline. As you can see, it's titled –Meeting-.

Why is this bad headline?

Well, there's no information about the meeting. If your calendar is full of meetings, you might even wonder which one Bhanu is talking about. And there's certainly no clarity about the subject, or when and where the meeting's being held.

What's more, the lack of specific information makes it look like a spam e-mail. This e-mail risks being deleted without being read! Also, the tone of the message is that of a friendly reminder. There's nothing wrong with that, but essential details are missing. If Jim hasn't heard anything about the meeting, or has completely forgotten about it, he'll have to write back for m o r e information.

Good Example

S u b j e c t : Reminder of 10 am Meeting Sched. 10/05 on PASS Process.
Hi Anand,
I just wanted to remind you about the meeting we have scheduled for Monday, October 5, at 10:00am. It's being held in the conference room A, and we'll be discussing the new PASS Process.If you have any questions, feel free to get in touch (x3024).
Best Wishes,
Bhanu

See how specific this new headline is?

The great thing about this headline is that the reader doesn't even have to open the e-mail to get most of the relevant information. And the precise nature of the headline serves as a useful prompt. Every time the reader glances at his saved e-mails, he'll be reminded about that specific meeting. Make One Point per E-mail One of the advantages of e-mail compared with traditional letters is that it doesn't cost any more to send several e-mails than it does to send one. So, if you need to communicate with someone about a number of different things, consider writing a separate email on each subject.

That way, your correspondent can reply to each one individually and in the appropriate time frame. One topic might only require a short reply that he or she can send straight away. Another topic might require more research. By writing separate messages, you should get clearer answers, while helping other people manage their inboxes better. If you do want to put several points in an email - perhaps because they relate to the same project - consider presenting each point in a separate, numbered paragraph. This makes each point stand out, significantly increasing the likelihood that each point will be addressed.

Be a Good Correspondent

Make sure that you go through your inbox regularly and respond as appropriate. This is a simple act of courtesy and will also serve to encourage others to reply to your e-mails in a timely manner. If a detailed response is required to an e-mail, and you don't have the time to pull together the information straight away, send a holding reply saying that you have received the message, and indicating when you will respond fully. How  frequently you should check your mail will depend on the nature of your work, but try to avoid interrupting a task you're working on to check your mail, simply because you wonder if s o m e t h i n g interesting has come in. Always set your Out of Office agent when you're going to be away from  your e-mail for a day or more, whether on leave or because you're at meetings.

Internal E-mail

Internal e-mails, just like other mails, should not be too informal. Remember, these are written forms of communication that can be printed out and viewed by people other than those for whom they were originally intended! Always use your spell checker, and avoid slang.

Process e-mails in batches

A simple way to increase your productivity is to turn off auto notifiers. It’s simply not necessary to check email constantly throughout the day, and doing so will regularly interrupt more important tasks. After receiving thousands of e-mails I can safely say that I’ve never received one that couldn’t wait 12 hours or so. Process your inbox in batches. Make it once or twice a day, and try to get your inbox down to zero. This will allow you to plow through the rest of your productive tasks without constant interruption.

Read it, answer it

Many people have the habit of reading all the e-mails before actually replying to them. Sometimes they might even wait a couple of hours before getting back to these previously read e-mails. This method is ineffective for several reasons.

First of all you might forget about some e-mails altogether. Once they are marked as “read” on your inbox, they will get mixed with all the others that you have already replied to. Secondly, this process will also consume more time, since you will probably need to read each e-mail a second time before remembering what you will need to say in the reply.
What would be a better approach? Simple, whenever you read an e-mail answer to it right
away.

Keep it Short & Sweet

This benefits you and the person on the receiving end of your e-mail, particularly if that person is busy like you.
• Cut out unnecessary words and sentences.
• Address the essential: not everything warrants a response.
• Use paragraphs liberally. It’s easier to read, and makes your e-mail more approachable.
• Greet the correspondent by name.
• Use a smiley if appropriate.
• Sign-off with your name. It can change the tone of your e-mail, and only takes a second or two.

Re-read once

You can go back and edit typos in a blog post or article, but you only get one chance with emails.It’s important that your meaning and expression is clear, especially when making pitches or networking with other people. Also, remember that spell checking is not enough. Typos and mistakes that form other valid words (e.g., lose and loose) will not becorrected by the spell checker. Proofreading is the key.

(The author is HOD of H & S Department, Sree Dattha Engineering College, Sheriguda,
Ibrahimpatnam)