Email is the most widely used form of communication today. Here are a few guidelines to keep in mind while sending an email.
Before the advent of the Internet, if someone had walked up to you and said that one day you would be able to send a letter instantly to someone halfway across the world, would you have believed him? However, this has become a reality today. Electronic mail i.e. email or e-mail accounts for almost ninety percent of our communication, especially in a workplace. At home too, people are more likely to use email to keep in touch with family and friends. Children use email to keep track of class project deadlines, communicate with cousins overseas, etc.
It is estimated that in 2007, 2.7 trillion emails will be sent from computers all over the world. This figure is likely to become higher as time passes. Email is the preferred means of communication for a whole host of reasons. It is fast, easy to use, and cheap. However, email can also be misused or abused. While sometimes it is deliberate, most often, email mistakes are simply the result of a careless error.
Subject Lines
You may not realise it but a subject line is very important in an email. Most of the time, a person decides if your email is worth reading based on the heading. If you forget to give your email a subject line, the chances are your email is going to be deleted even before it is read. Your recipient may be receiving emails from a lot of people and does not have the time to personally check each one and see if it is relevant.
A missing subject line is not the only issue. Your subject line should also be appropriate based on your message. Subject lines like 'hi', 'hello', 'for you' etc. do not tell the receiver what the message is about. For example, assume you are writing an email to your child's teacher giving your approval for a proposed field trip. Your subject line should be something like 'Permission for Dheeraj Jadhav for trip to museum'. This clearly conveys the message that the email is about Dheeraj's parent giving her permission for a field trip to the museum.
Always remember that you are not the only one writing to a person. Your email is competing with others for the reader's attention. You should try to make your email stand out from the crowd. The best way of doing this is for your email's subject line to encourage the reader to open the email.
Tone of the Message
When you physically speak to someone, your expressions and gestures play a big role in getting the message across. Even when you speak on the phone, the tone of your voice conveys your message. An email, like a letter, is simply a group of sentences. This means what you write is left open to interpretation. A tongue-in-cheek remark or witty retort can easily be misinterpreted as an insult, even if that was not the writer's intention.
To avoid potential misunderstandings, be a little careful while writing your email. If you are replying to someone, go through their email and try to understand the manner in which it has been written. If the style of the email is informal, you may choose to reply in the same manner. However, if you are replying to a formally written email, keep your reply short and sweet. Reply only to what has been asked and make sure your response is polite. This is especially important if you are writing to a bank, your child's school, etc.
Avoid using slang in your emails. Even if you are writing to a friend, keep the slang to a minimum or avoid it altogether. Also, remember that typing in capital letters is considered as the email equivalent of shouting. Do not be in a hurry to write your email. Take a few minutes to read what you have written before you send it.
Writing an email is quick. However, it also requires some basic manners. Writing a good email is similar to art. The more you write, the better you will become. Avoiding careless email mistakes will ensure that you become a good online correspondent.
Do you use email for correspondence? Have you faced problems due to misunderstood emails? Are your children 'net-savvy'? Have you ever discussed email manners with your children? To share your tips, views, and experiences, click here.
