Many people don't know how to use email. This presentation gives the guidelines on using email effectively and the etiquette to be followed

1. Email etiquette
Dr. Pavanaja U. B.
CEO, Vishva Kannada Softech
www.vishvakannada.com
pavanaja@vishvakannada.com

2. Before we begin
Please put your cell phones to sleep

3. Email
• Short for electronic mail
• Electronic mail, commonly called email or e-
mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages
across the Internet or other computer networks.
• Types
– POP3/SMTP
• pavanaja@excelindia.com
– IMAP
• Exchange Server, Lotus Domino
– Web-based
• Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoomail

4. Remember
• Email is permanent – it provides a record
• Email is a valid document as per IT Act
• Email can be accessible anytime anywhere
• Email can be forwarded and copied

5. Purpose
• Informatory –to colleague, friend, business partner
• Applying for job
• Invitation
• Enquiry email –from colleague, business
partner, friend, customer, HR Manager
• Problem reporting –to customer support, manager
• Problem response –reply to problem reporting
• Status reports –to colleague, manager, client
• Minutes of meeting –to colleague, manager, client
• Friendly email –to friends (whom else?)

6. Etiquette
• Etiquette – is the conduct or procedure required by
good breeding or prescribed by authority to be
observed in social or official life
• Email etiquette –etiquette while using emails

7. The need for email etiquette
• Professionalism
– by using proper email language you will convey a professional image.
• Efficiency
– emails that get to the point are much more effective than poorly
worded emails.
• Protection from liability
– awareness of email risks will protect you from costly law suits.

8. Keep these points in mind
• Purpose
• Person to whom it is addressed
• Tone you should adopt
• Completeness of the message
• Action required
• Conciseness of expression

9. Salutation
• Dear Sir/Madam
(when we are writing to a total stranger whom we do not know at all)
• Dear Mr/Ms/Dr/Professor + Surname as in: Dear Dr
Pavanaja
(when it is a formal relationship with the addressee and the writer does
not know him or her personally).
• Dear Mahesh
(when the writer knows the addressee personally and the two share a
semi-formal relationship)
• Hi/Hello
(International/US convention/Friendly)

10. Subject line
• Never ever leave it blank
• Should be concise, precise and unambiguous
Ex. Seminar on email etiquette, Help required in rolling out VSTS
Wrong: Seminar, VSTS
• Applying for job –
Ex. Resume of Arpita –Fresher, Gopal –Java-2+ yrs
• Should not look like a spam message
Wrong: Greetings, Hi, Hello, Urgent, Congratulations, …
• Change the subject if the topic is changed while
replying in a long thread and put the original subject
in bracket with ‘was’ in the beginning
Ex. Email etiquette (was Re: Introduction to Internet)

11. To, Cc and Bcc
• ‘To’ and ‘Cc’ are not the same
• The addresses in the 'To' are for the people whom
you are directly addressing
• The addresses in the 'Cc' are for the people you are
indirectly addressing –for information purpose only
• People in ‘To’ are supposed to action on the email
whereas for those in ‘Cc’ it is just an info
• ‘Bcc’ is same as ‘Cc’ except that people in ‘To’ and
‘Cc’ won’t know the addresses in ‘Bcc’
• Use ‘Bcc’ very sparingly

12. Reply and Reply All
• ‘Reply’ and ‘Reply All’ are not the same
• ‘Reply’ will send the reply email only to the sender
• ‘Reply All’ will send reply email to everyone in the
‘To’ and ‘Cc’ fields
• Use ‘Reply All’ judiciously
• Never ever click ‘Reply All’ if your address is in the
‘Bcc’ field

13. Closure & Signature
Closure
• Keep it simple
Ex. Thanks and regards, Regards, Sincerely, With warm regards, ..
Don’t – Yours faithfully, Yours obediently,
Signature
• Put your name only
• Put a full name & address as part of the signature
• Use the email client’s signature feature
• Have a disclaimer/footer as per company’s email
policy

14. Content
• Depends on the type of email
• Always be precise and to the point
• Introduce the topic first
• Have a spelling check done before sending
• Read the email fully before sending
• Have proper paragraph break, when appropriate
• Use formatting when appropriate
– Bold, Italic, Underline, Color

15. Content –Applying for Job
• Dear Sir/Madam –if you don’t know the person
• Dear Mr Ishwar Hegde –if you know the person
• Responding to advertisements-
– I am writing with regards to the job you advertised.../I am writing in response
to your ad...
• If you know there is some opening -
– I came to know that there is some opening in your company for a …
• If you are a fresher -
– I am a fresh … graduate … looking for an opportunity …
• If you are applying through a connection –
– I would like to introduce myself as a friend of …
• Promote yourself-
– I consider myself suitable for that position because...
• Finish with an optimistic note-
– I'm looking forward to hearing from you. /I am expecting a favourable reply
from you soon.

16. Attaching resume
• Most people accept MS Word .doc files
• Many people are yet to move to .docx file (Word
2007/2010)
• Preferably save as Word 97-2003 file in Word
2007/2010
• To be safe–
– Also create .RTF and/or PDF files
– Some companies request for HTML file
• Don’t create huge files (don’t include unnecessary
images in the resume)
• Don’t send resume as PPT/Flash/animation file
– Exception –creative person/field

17. Do
• Use active language
• Use positive language
• Check whether you have to attach something
• Use simple readable font
• Use known/understandable abbreviations
– BTW, HTH, TIA, AFAIK, ASAP, …
• Use smileys only when needed

18. Don’t
• Use passive and/or abusive language
• Use all capital letters
• Use fancy fonts which are not easy to read
• Use SMS/chat language
– cd, hv, 10q, thx, c u, ur, u r, ...
• Attach huge files unless it is a must
• Forward without the permission/knowledge of original sender
• Ask for a read receipt unless it is a must
• Don’t forward spam emails, hoaxes, jokes –unless you are
sure you wanted to do it
• Ask to recall a message
• Indulge in flaming (hatred messages)
• Respond to flaming

19. Questions?

20. Thank you
Gracias
Merci Danke
Σε ευχαριστώ 谢谢您
ありがとうございました