3. Email
• Short for electronic mail
• Electronic mail, commonly called email or e-
mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages
across the Internet or other computer networks.
• Types
– POP3/SMTP
• pavanaja@excelindia.com
– IMAP
• Exchange Server, Lotus Domino
– Web-based
• Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoomail
4. Remember
• Email is permanent – it provides a record
• Email is a valid document as per IT Act
• Email can be accessible anytime anywhere
• Email can be forwarded and copied
5. Purpose
• Informatory –to colleague, friend, business partner
• Applying for job
• Invitation
• Enquiry email –from colleague, business
partner, friend, customer, HR Manager
• Problem reporting –to customer support, manager
• Problem response –reply to problem reporting
• Status reports –to colleague, manager, client
• Minutes of meeting –to colleague, manager, client
• Friendly email –to friends (whom else?)
6. Etiquette
• Etiquette – is the conduct or procedure required by
good breeding or prescribed by authority to be
observed in social or official life
• Email etiquette –etiquette while using emails
7. The need for email etiquette
• Professionalism
– by using proper email language you will convey a professional image.
• Efficiency
– emails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly
worded emails.
• Protection from liability
– awareness of email risks will protect you from costly law suits.
8. Keep these points in mind
• Purpose
• Person to whom it is addressed
• Tone you should adopt
• Completeness of the message
• Action required
• Conciseness of expression
9. Salutation
• Dear Sir/Madam
(when we are writing to a total stranger whom we do not know at all)
• Dear Mr/Ms/Dr/Professor + Surname as in: Dear Dr
Pavanaja
(when it is a formal relationship with the addressee and the writer does
not know him or her personally).
• Dear Mahesh
(when the writer knows the addressee personally and the two share a
semi-formal relationship)
• Hi/Hello
(International/US convention/Friendly)
10. Subject line
• Never ever leave it blank
• Should be concise, precise and unambiguous
Ex. Seminar on email etiquette, Help required in rolling out VSTS
Wrong: Seminar, VSTS
• Applying for job –
Ex. Resume of Arpita –Fresher, Gopal –Java-2+ yrs
• Should not look like a spam message
Wrong: Greetings, Hi, Hello, Urgent, Congratulations, …
• Change the subject if the topic is changed while
replying in a long thread and put the original subject
in bracket with ‘was’ in the beginning
Ex. Email etiquette (was Re: Introduction to Internet)
11. To, Cc and Bcc
• ‘To’ and ‘Cc’ are not the same
• The addresses in the 'To' are for the people whom
you are directly addressing
• The addresses in the 'Cc' are for the people you are
indirectly addressing –for information purpose only
• People in ‘To’ are supposed to action on the email
whereas for those in ‘Cc’ it is just an info
• ‘Bcc’ is same as ‘Cc’ except that people in ‘To’ and
‘Cc’ won’t know the addresses in ‘Bcc’
• Use ‘Bcc’ very sparingly
12. Reply and Reply All
• ‘Reply’ and ‘Reply All’ are not the same
• ‘Reply’ will send the reply email only to the sender
• ‘Reply All’ will send reply email to everyone in the
‘To’ and ‘Cc’ fields
• Use ‘Reply All’ judiciously
• Never ever click ‘Reply All’ if your address is in the
‘Bcc’ field
13. Closure & Signature
Closure
• Keep it simple
Ex. Thanks and regards, Regards, Sincerely, With warm regards, ..
Don’t – Yours faithfully, Yours obediently,
Signature
• Put your name only
• Put a full name & address as part of the signature
• Use the email client’s signature feature
• Have a disclaimer/footer as per company’s email
policy
14. Content
• Depends on the type of email
• Always be precise and to the point
• Introduce the topic first
• Have a spelling check done before sending
• Read the email fully before sending
• Have proper paragraph break, when appropriate
• Use formatting when appropriate
– Bold, Italic, Underline, Color
15. Content –Applying for Job
• Dear Sir/Madam –if you don’t know the person
• Dear Mr Ishwar Hegde –if you know the person
• Responding to advertisements-
– I am writing with regards to the job you advertised.../I am writing in response
to your ad...
• If you know there is some opening -
– I came to know that there is some opening in your company for a …
• If you are a fresher -
– I am a fresh … graduate … looking for an opportunity …
• If you are applying through a connection –
– I would like to introduce myself as a friend of …
• Promote yourself-
– I consider myself suitable for that position because...
• Finish with an optimistic note-
– I'm looking forward to hearing from you. /I am expecting a favourable reply
from you soon.
16. Attaching resume
• Most people accept MS Word .doc files
• Many people are yet to move to .docx file (Word
2007/2010)
• Preferably save as Word 97-2003 file in Word
2007/2010
• To be safe–
– Also create .RTF and/or PDF files
– Some companies request for HTML file
• Don’t create huge files (don’t include unnecessary
images in the resume)
• Don’t send resume as PPT/Flash/animation file
– Exception –creative person/field
17. Do
• Use active language
• Use positive language
• Check whether you have to attach something
• Use simple readable font
• Use known/understandable abbreviations
– BTW, HTH, TIA, AFAIK, ASAP, …
• Use smileys only when needed
18. Don’t
• Use passive and/or abusive language
• Use all capital letters
• Use fancy fonts which are not easy to read
• Use SMS/chat language
– cd, hv, 10q, thx, c u, ur, u r, ...
• Attach huge files unless it is a must
• Forward without the permission/knowledge of original sender
• Ask for a read receipt unless it is a must
• Don’t forward spam emails, hoaxes, jokes –unless you are
sure you wanted to do it
• Ask to recall a message
• Indulge in flaming (hatred messages)
• Respond to flaming