Don’t Sacrifice Courtesy for Convenience
There’s been much written about the sheer audacity of cellphone users who refuse to set down their devices when in the physical company of others. Enough about it already. If you don’t understand etiquette, the ways of polite society, enough to understand that it’s rude, inconsiderate and downright wrong to bury your nose in your phone while another person is standing or sitting right in front you, then there is little hope for your future success in any relationship — be it in the personal or professional arena.
Instead, let’s review some basic email etiquette boundaries and rules. And we’re going to get personal here; something we rarely do at Ray Access. But as technology takes over our lives, it’s more vital than ever that we treat each other with respect.
Email Etiquette Trumps Texting Time
As baby boomers who have fully embraced email in lieu of talking on the phone, we understand that these days, many people eschew email in favor of texting. We also understand that much of the email traffic occurs on mobile devices, versus the draconian desktops or more familiar laptops.
That’s all well and good; we love the convenience of texting as much as the next person. But texting is not appropriate for long messages with instructions or questions that call for lengthy answers. Even email requires some level of thought and consideration rather than just a quick “Pick you up at 8,” version that’s more suited to text messages.
Anybody Home?
Whatever device you use to receive and send email, the rules of email etiquette are clear and, for the most part, unequivocal. At least if you want any of our business. So do us all a favor and follow these simple rules:
- Respond in a timely manner. If we send you an email to ask if you’d like to work for our company, for example, you’d best reply within 24 to 48 hours. Otherwise, you’re toast in our book — black toast that only belongs in the trash. We don’t need an instantaneous reply, but we do expect the courtesy of a response, even if it’s to say, “no way.” And we’re sure other employers feel exactly the same way.
- Make sure the subject line matches your email message. Please don’t add us to a 30-message string. Not only does it make us feel like an afterthought, there’s a chance we’ll miss the actual message you’re sending.
- Which leads us to another tactless point that email etiquette lovers shiver when we see: Don’t look up an old email and tag on a new message with reply. At least take the time to delete the previous verbiage that has nothing to do with your current request.
- Use the important tag only when it really is vital and you want us to look at it and respond immediately. Email etiquette demands that if something is really important, you should call. By calling, you have a much higher chance of an instant response if that’s what you really need. Don’t try to bully us into thinking your message is more important than others.
- On our list of Top 5 Email Etiquette Blunders is this one: Proofread your work before sending. If your message is so long that you don’t have time to give it a quick read for errors, then it’s too long for anyone. Consider creating a Microsoft Word document that you can play with, edit and change before you send it.
Email Etiquette for Dummies
Once you hit “Send,” your integrity, values, personality and intelligence are out there for the world to see — or at least for the recipient of your email to see. If you want to appear smart, considerate, respectful and polite, think before you click.
Others may have different email etiquette priorities, and you can tell what those are by the way they communicate with you. Some people, for example, believe that it’s rude not to include a greeting and ending salutation to an email. That’s not required for us, but we respect those who practice it. Everyone can take away some suggestions from this blog that yes, is a bit of a rant. Mea culpa. Send us an email if you disagree: info@rayaccess.com.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.
