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Your guide to e-mail etiquette
Communication has come a long way. And, with the ever-rising popularity of the Internet as a vehicle for formal business communication, Netiquette, a relatively new concept, is a must-know for every professional. It is a set of standards of acceptable behavior you need to follow when online, and includes rules you need to follow while sending and receiving formal business missives.
Why do you need netiquette? For two reasons: It creates an impression of professionalism. And it ensures the correct message gets across. Some simple rules, if followed while sending e-mail, make all the difference between a good professional impression and a bad one.
Why are you writing to me?
State the purpose of your e-mail -- it is a good practice to have a subject line that explains what follows and how high on the priority list it should be. This information has to be in two places:
i. The subject box, which is part of the compose e-mail form. Here, state the reason for your mail. If you are writing it to apply for leave, you could say 'Leave application'.
ii. Subject line in the main e-mail body; just as you would in any formal business letter. Here, you could say:
Sub: Leave application, April 1-April 15 2006
Greet me right
Address people you don't know as Mr, Mrs, Ms or Dr. Address someone by first name only if you are on a first name basis with each other; it is okay, under these circumstances, to use first names on a formal business missive.
If you do not know the name of the person, or whether it is a man or a woman, it is best to address the person concerned as: Dear Sir / Madam, Whomsoever it may concern, The Manager; etc.
And your point is?
Get to the point.
Verbosity and extreme terseness are two ends of a spectrum, you should try for the middle -- state your point without sounding rudely brief or chatty.
Remember to state your point and what you expect from the reader of your mail in clear terms. There should also be...
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