Getting emails to work in your favour requires following these rules.
| Don’t use the email if you don’t need to. | Face-to-face is best and phone calls are second best. You can email later if confirmation is really necessary. |
| Send your email TO only one person. | This would be the person who you expect to take action of some kind and/or respond to you. |
| Don’t copy in others if you don’t need to. | You have no right to clutter up the inbox of others. Copy only those directly involved if they must know. |
| Do not respond if your name is in the Cc line. | The email has been copied to you so that you are ‘informed’ – in the picture. You are not being asked for your views! |
| Think before hitting ‘reply all’. | No one wants to read emails from 20 people that have nothing to do with them. People will get irritated. |
| Don’t play ‘politics’ with emails. | Copying in the receiver’s boss & others is cowardly and causes distrust and very likely unwarranted interference. |
| Keep your message brief & to the point. | A long waffling email message wastes your time and the recipient’s time. Stick to just one subject per email. |
| Make your subject line clear & specific. | People decide whether to open an email based on the subject line. It also helps to find the email again. |
| Read the email again before sending. | An email should be as precise and as accurate and as error free as possible. Make your meaning clear. |
| Don’t shout! | Using capital letters seems as if you are SHOUTING! Bold is better for emphasis. Avoid colours. |
| Watch your wording & language. | A sarcastic remark or a friendly criticism can be easily misunderstood. That is why the first rule is so important. |
| Don’t forward emails aimlessly. | You may be forwarding it to someone already ‘copied’.No one wants to receive the same email twice. |
For further assistance or information contact Steve Woods – steve@achievementprocess.co.za.