Have you ever gotten a really obnoxious e-mail from a coworker? Doesn’t it just make you want to go and punch them in the shins (yes – “punch them in the shins”)? Well don’t do that – it’s unnecessary. Instead, just show the offender this video on proper e-mail etiquette for the workplace…
I promise you that if you stick to these simple principles, you’ll find that your e-mails aren’t received with nearly as much angst.
Should those things outlined in the video above not work for you – try the following (courtesy of The Oatmeal) by CLICKING THE PIC…
CLICK THE PIC to see what The Oatmeal has to say on the subject...
He does make some valid points.
At the end of the day – office e-mails are a matter of personal preference, but c’mon. There is such a thing as ridiculous. I stick to these 3 things on a personal level:
- Keep it brief (in mostly all situations). No one wants to read a book. Sure you want to cross all your t’s and such in your e-mail, but once you’ve written subsections and headers to your message, you have to accept the fact that you’re probably overdoing it. I’m not saying every e-mail should be 1-3 sentences long, because sometimes you’ll HAVE TO go beyond that. I’m just saying leave the essays and dissertation papers for your Grad Level coursework.
- Don’t send anything you wouldn’t say or show in front of your boss and/or “all other coworkers”. If you don’t have it in you to discern what things aren’t work appropriate to send – I’ll put it this way: Anything that can get you fired = a bad idea to send.
- Speak polite English. We all know the definition of “rude” as an adult, and we’re all pretty accustomed to what counts as aggressive and non-aggressive speech. Avoid ‘all-caps’ and such as pointed out earlier (just imagine what all-caps sounds like spoken), but also just watch what you say. Condescending language and profanities can offend people in ways that you’d never suspect. And technical jargon can just become an exercise in wasting time. Just speak plain and speak politely (please).
Are there more rules? Sure. But those 3 have gotten me pretty far, so I intend to stick to them. If there are any “job-specific” e-mail norms at your workplace, just follow suit… unless they’re obnoxious 
What things happen in e-mails that irk you? What “e-mail etiquette rules” are you guilty of breaking? What rules would you add for common e-mail etiquette? Speak your mind in the Comment Section below.
Peace and thanks for reading.
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