With the increasing popularity of electronic mail as a communication tool, it is important to know the basics. Whether you are communicating with a friend, a co-worker, your boss, or a complete stranger these tips will help you to communicate more efficiently and effectively.

1. Stay away from sarcasm in e-mail – they can’t hear the tone of your voice.

2. Keep the subject line brief but reflective of the content of the e-mail.

3. The beauty of e-mail is that it is less like mail and more like conversation. Keep it short and to the point.

4. When replying to e-mail, use quotes from the original e-mail so that they remember what prompted your response.

5. Try to avoid too much visual stimulation. Changing fonts and colors within one e-mail is distracting to the reader.

6. Capitalizing an entire word is a great way to emphasize a point. Be careful, too many words capitalized and it means you are shouting at the reader.

7. Avoid using “Good Morning” or “ Good Afternoon” when addressing your reader. It may be a different time of day when they open the e-mail.

8. Correct typos! While your friends may not mind, it is interpreted as lazy or disrespectful. After all, most e-mail has spell check.

9. When sending e-mail to a stranger make sure you include identifying information in the beginning. Don’t wait until the end to figure out who you are.

10. Use emoticons, or smiley faces in your e-mail. They help to insert your tone of voice. J L