Jennifer Postal

Elective #12

You’ve Got Mail! As the name of the movie suggests, it is always exciting to receive mail, whether it is standard mail or email. Since access to email is now easier than ever more people are using it as a communication tool. Keeping this in mind, it is essential to remember some guidelines when sending an email message to someone. Here are ten tips for effective email communication. Be sure to keep them in mind when writing your next email message.

1. Using proper grammar, including punctuation, is important.

Sending an email is one way for a person to learn about you. A reader should not have to take the time to muddle through a message that is not written well. Take time to use your resources such as spell check and grammar check.

2. Subject lines should tell the reader what to expect from the email.

This is important in order to entice the reader to read the email. It is the first thing that the reader sees and a good subject line will determine whether the reader opens the email immediately or waits until later.

3. Give the reader a context.

When responding to an email, copy the previous email so as to remind the reader what the discussion was about. Without a proper context the reader may not know what is being responded to. Some email programs do this task automatically, but some do not.

4. Choose an easy to read font style.

Use plain text in order to make it easy for your reader. Fancy text may not be accepted by all email programs. Use bold and italicized font sparingly.

5. Keep it short, sweet and to the point.

People are busy these days and so unless an email is short, the entire email may not be read. Be sure to use short paragraphs of a few sentences and keep the length of the email under a page.

6. Be careful using acronyms.

Your reader may not know what the definition of LOL (laugh out loud) or ttyl (talk to you later) mean. Use acronyms in informal email messages only. Don’t overuse acronyms.

7. Do not open email from an unknown sender.

The email message may be spam or contain a virus. Opening an email from an unknown sender can cause problems so be careful.

8. Not all email programs are able to open all attachments.

Some pictures may end up lost in the translation. Be aware when sending attachments as part of your email message.

9. Using emoticons allow the reader to gain a better understanding of the email.

Emoticons help to convey emotions. Examples of emoticons are smiley faces. They can be made with symbols or the faces as shown below. Use them sparingly in order to help the reader understand your views.

10. Proofread the email before hitting send.

Once the send button is hit, you can’t take it back. So use spell check and grammar check to ensure that everything is the way that it is supposed to be.