Career Planning

  1. Home
  2. Careers
  3. Career Planning

Email Etiquette

Part 2: Manners and Tone

By Dawn Rosenberg McKay, About.com

Mind Your Manners

What three words have a total of only 14 letters yet carry a great deal of meaning? People may not notice these words when they're there, but if you forget to use them, you'll come across looking disrespectful and ungrateful. Give Up? These very powerful words are “Please” and “Thank You”. Please take my advice. You'll thank me later.

This isn't something that especially bothers me, but there are others who are very sensitive to being addressed by their first names. When in doubt, use Mr., Mrs., or Dr. (if appropriate). When you are replying to an email and the sender of the original message has used his or her first name only, then you could safely assume it's okay to use that person's first name as well.

Don't Use that Tone With Me

Tone is a difficult thing to explain. Remember when your parents would say "Don't use that tone of voice with me, young lady (or young man)?" Your feelings come across by the way you say something. It is easy to change your tone when you're speaking. When you're writing it's very hard to do. Whenever I write an email, I read my message over several times before I hit send. I want to make sure I come across as respectful, friendly, and approachable. I don't want to sound curt or demanding. Sometimes just rearranging your paragraphs will help.

If you're writing to someone you've communicated with before, you might want to begin by saying "I hope you are well." Email writers often use emoticons to convey a certain tone. For those of you who don't know what these are, emoticons are little faces made up by arranging parentheses, colons, and semi-colons. Use good judgement here. If you write to someone frequently and you have a less formal relationship, then emoticons are okay. If, however, you're writing to a prospective employer, stick to words only.

Avoid writing your message using all upper case letters. It looks like you're shouting. Don't use all lower case letters either. Some people say it will make it seem like you're mumbling.

More
Why Is Etiquette Important?
Be Concise and Be Professional
Spelling, Grammar, and Attachments

Explore Career Planning

About.com Special Features

How to Write a Cover Letter

Looking for a new job? Use these tips and put your best foot forward. More >

Online Degrees in Hard Times

Ten reasons earning an online degree during a recession is a great idea. More >

Career Planning

  1. Home
  2. Careers
  3. Career Planning
  4. Skills and Training
  5. Important Skills
  6. Communication
  7. Email Etiquette - Manners and Tone

©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.

All rights reserved.