by Kris Matz
Have you ever received an email that you just know the sender wishes they could take back? Maybe they didn’t read it before hitting send, were angry when they wrote it, or clicked “reply to all” by mistake? Make sure that you are creating a good impression with the messages that you send – to customers, vendors and other staff members.
1. Make your subject line meaningful so that the recipients see value in opening your message. But avoid using text and punctuation that will likely get your message trapped in SPAM filters, for example: all capital letters, the word free, and multiple exclamation points!!
2. Use a professional and courteous tone.
3. Get to the point of your message; be clear and concise. Readers are likely to put aside very long messages, then may forget to go back to read them.
4. Use proper grammar and capitalization. And never use texting language in a professional email. Using ALL CAPITAL letters is the equivalent of yelling. Not using any capital letters appears lazy.
5. Use the spell check to avoid silly and easily avoidable mistakes. No excuses here!
6. Proofread to catch errors that the spell checker might miss. For example, words that are similar like there, their and they’re – or the tense of words such as has and had.
7. Ask before sending attachments, especially large ones.
8. Ask a co-worker or supervisor to review and proof any sensitive or critical messages before sending. The second opinion may be very insightful and helpful.
9. You can’t take it back after clicking “Send”. If expressing a strong or sensitive opinion, type your message in a Word document first. Save it, take a break, then go back and revisit the message. Edit if needed, then copy and paste your message into your email text box.
10. To be safe, never fill in the “To” box until you have completed all the steps above. Then if you hit “Send” by mistake, you’ll save yourself some embarrassment.
