As I was surfing via net, a post in Yahoo News & Opinion category caught my attention. It brings about common work e-mail mistakes that most of us rely on as a form of communication. Neither we’re just at home nor at work, e-mail is indeed a helpful communication that we should make use of properly. Below are some of the worst e-mail mistakes that employees make and how to avoid them.
1. Sending before you mean to. Enter the recipient’s e-mail address only when your e-mail is ready to be sent. This helps reduce the risk of an embarrassing misfire, such as sending an important e-mail to the wrong person or e-mailing a half-written note.
2. Forgetting the attachment. If your e-mail includes an attachment, upload the file to the e-mail before composing it.
3. Expecting an instant response. Don’t send an e-mail and show up at the recipient’s desk 30 seconds later asking if they’ve received it. They did, and they’ll answer at their convenience. That’s the point of e-mail.
4. Forwarding useless e-mails. I’ve never seen a single e-mail forward at work that was beneficial. Whether it’s a silly joke or a heartwarming charity, there’s never a time to share an e-mail forward using your work e-mail.
5. Not reviewing all new messages before replying. When you return to the office after a week or more away, review all new e-mails before firing off responses. It might be hard to accept, but odds are, things did march on without you.
6. Omitting recipients when you “reply all.” Unless there’s an important reason to omit someone, don’t arbitrarily leave people off the response if they were included on the original message.
7. Including your e-mail signature again and again. Nor do you need to include it at the end of an e-mail you send to your long-time co-worker who sits six feet away. If you have your e-mail program set to automatically generate a signature with each new message, take a second to delete it when communicating with someone who knows who you are.
8. Composing the note too quickly. Don’t be careless; write every e-mail as if it will be read at Saint Peter’s Square during the blessing of a new Pope.
9. Violating your company’s e-mail policy. Many companies have aggressive spam filters in place that monitor “blue” language. From that famous four-letter word to simple terms, such as “job search,” don’t end up tripping the system by letting your guard down.
10. Failing to include basic greetings. Simple pleasantries do the trick. Say “hi” at the start of the message and “thanks” at the end.
11. E-mailing when you’re angry. Don’t do it. Ever. Recall buttons are far from a perfect science, and sending a business e-mail tainted by emotion is often a catastrophic mistake.
12. Underestimating the importance of the subject line. The subject line is your headline. Make it interesting, and you’ll increase the odds of getting the recipient’s attention. Our inboxes are cluttered; you need to be creative and direct to help the recipient cut through the noise.
13. Using incorrect subject lines. Change the subject line if you’re changing the topic of conversation.
14. Sending the wrong attachment. If you double-check an attachment immediately before sending and decide that you need to make changes, don’t forget to update the source file.
15. Not putting an e-mail in context. Even if you were talking to someone an hour ago about something, remind them in the e-mail why you’re writing.
16. Using BCC too often. Use BCC (blind carbon copy) sparingly. Even though it’s supposed to be a secret, it rarely is. Burn someone once, and they’ll never trust you again. Likewise, forwarding e-mail is a great way to destroy your credibility.
17. Relying too much on e-mail. News flash! No one is sitting around staring at their inbox waiting for your e-mail. If something is urgent, use another means of communication.
18. Hitting “reply all” unintentionally. This is a biggie. And it’s not just embarrassing; depending on what you wrote in that e-mail, it can ruin your relationship with a co-worker or even your boss.
Reasonably appealing and surely it will serve as a guide for each one of us in order to avoid the e-mail mistakes.
1. Sending before you mean to. Enter the recipient’s e-mail address only when your e-mail is ready to be sent. This helps reduce the risk of an embarrassing misfire, such as sending an important e-mail to the wrong person or e-mailing a half-written note.
2. Forgetting the attachment. If your e-mail includes an attachment, upload the file to the e-mail before composing it.
3. Expecting an instant response. Don’t send an e-mail and show up at the recipient’s desk 30 seconds later asking if they’ve received it. They did, and they’ll answer at their convenience. That’s the point of e-mail.
4. Forwarding useless e-mails. I’ve never seen a single e-mail forward at work that was beneficial. Whether it’s a silly joke or a heartwarming charity, there’s never a time to share an e-mail forward using your work e-mail.
5. Not reviewing all new messages before replying. When you return to the office after a week or more away, review all new e-mails before firing off responses. It might be hard to accept, but odds are, things did march on without you.
6. Omitting recipients when you “reply all.” Unless there’s an important reason to omit someone, don’t arbitrarily leave people off the response if they were included on the original message.
7. Including your e-mail signature again and again. Nor do you need to include it at the end of an e-mail you send to your long-time co-worker who sits six feet away. If you have your e-mail program set to automatically generate a signature with each new message, take a second to delete it when communicating with someone who knows who you are.
8. Composing the note too quickly. Don’t be careless; write every e-mail as if it will be read at Saint Peter’s Square during the blessing of a new Pope.
9. Violating your company’s e-mail policy. Many companies have aggressive spam filters in place that monitor “blue” language. From that famous four-letter word to simple terms, such as “job search,” don’t end up tripping the system by letting your guard down.
10. Failing to include basic greetings. Simple pleasantries do the trick. Say “hi” at the start of the message and “thanks” at the end.
11. E-mailing when you’re angry. Don’t do it. Ever. Recall buttons are far from a perfect science, and sending a business e-mail tainted by emotion is often a catastrophic mistake.
12. Underestimating the importance of the subject line. The subject line is your headline. Make it interesting, and you’ll increase the odds of getting the recipient’s attention. Our inboxes are cluttered; you need to be creative and direct to help the recipient cut through the noise.
13. Using incorrect subject lines. Change the subject line if you’re changing the topic of conversation.
14. Sending the wrong attachment. If you double-check an attachment immediately before sending and decide that you need to make changes, don’t forget to update the source file.
15. Not putting an e-mail in context. Even if you were talking to someone an hour ago about something, remind them in the e-mail why you’re writing.
16. Using BCC too often. Use BCC (blind carbon copy) sparingly. Even though it’s supposed to be a secret, it rarely is. Burn someone once, and they’ll never trust you again. Likewise, forwarding e-mail is a great way to destroy your credibility.
17. Relying too much on e-mail. News flash! No one is sitting around staring at their inbox waiting for your e-mail. If something is urgent, use another means of communication.
18. Hitting “reply all” unintentionally. This is a biggie. And it’s not just embarrassing; depending on what you wrote in that e-mail, it can ruin your relationship with a co-worker or even your boss.
Reasonably appealing and surely it will serve as a guide for each one of us in order to avoid the e-mail mistakes.
