We are all drowning in email. By some estimates, we spend almost 1/3 of our work hours handling email. For those like me who work remotely, this percentage is even higher. So yes, I’ve come across the full gamut of email practices –the good, the bad and the ugly– and today want to share with you which practices I think work best and which ones to avoid.

DO

Respond in some way within 24 hours, even if only to say you won’t be able to fully respond for a few days or until next week, just say so. Don’t leave others guessing.

Include a signature with your name and number, just in case the recipient needs to call. You don’t want someone hunting for your number, even if they have it somewhere.

Be clear in your subject line. Get to the point, like a newspaper headline, give a simple and descriptive idea of what you’re writing about.

Change the subject line to match the message in an old email if the topic on the thread has morphed into a new conversation.

Feel free to use “No Reply Necessary” or “FYI”, if you don’t need to hear back from recipients.

DON’T (these should be obvious but..)

Don’t forward hoaxes without checking them out first. Bookmark snopes.com, the accepted clearinghouse for urban legends and hoaxes. No, Bill Gates is not going to send you $1,000 because you forwarded his email. And the Affordable Healthcare Act does not require everyone be implanted with microchips.

Don’t use ALL CAPS – unless you mean to yell, which should probably be never.

Don’t hit “Reply All”, unless you actually need everyone to see your reply, which should be rarely.

Don’t assume that email is private. IT IS NOT (Yes, I’m yelling). It’s considered company property and can be retrieved, examined, and “discovered” in case of litigation. Don’t send it if you wouldn’t want it shown as Exhibit A in court. Even if you trust the person you’re writing to, email can be inadvertently sent to the wrong person, can be intercepted or could deliberately be forwarded into the wrong hands. At best you’ll be embarrassed, but worse you can loose your job, your credibility or even get into legal trouble.

So, what are your e-mail etiquette pet peeves and best practices? Post them on my Facebook page or reply to me.
© Copyright Eva Del Rio