Email rules & best practices

Question

What are the best email rules? Thanks!

Jen Holsman · Answer

As Rose mentioned above, it depends on the type of email. For inter-company communication:

- Use spell check.

- If they are asking YOU something specific even if other people may be on the same email, respond within 24 or less if you can (pending you are not on holiday). You may not have an exact answer on it, but let them know you are working on it and will confirm/follow up by X day.

- Although I have the above rule for responding, when you are waiting for a response and not getting one, consider the urgency of the situation with how soon/aggressively you follow up.

- If someone isn't responding and you really need an answer, it might be worth taking a walk over to their desk if you're in the same office for a casual follow-up that also isn't calling them out on everyone else in the email. You can also follow up via email with them only instead of 'reply all'.

- CC all the necessary people, but be conscious that some people get A LOT of emails.

- Try to be concise and use bullets if there's many points you need to hit that are important. A lot of people skim.

- Be pleasant! If it's for work, you're all working for the same goal (to have the company succeed so you get paid) so be understanding and say 'Thanks!' when possible. Call people out on their prompt responses, help, or good work.

Amortentsia519 · Answer

This is highly dependent on the context of the email you are writing.

In general, I recommend always using a standard signature (your name, email, website and phone number), best grammar, and no emojis.  For workplace emails,  follow the SLA for your company/department.  Two business days seems long to me, but I work in travel, where everything needs a quick  turn-around.

Always make sure you're following the standard formatting for a letter/email like they teach in English classes.  You don't have to be overly formal, but the template below is a good format that you can customize based on your taste:

Dear/Hi/Hello [NAME],

[Email text here]

Sincerely/Regards,

[YOUR NAME]
email@mail.com
202-555-1234
linkedin/in/[yourpagename]

Rose Holland · Answer

What type of rules are you looking for? We require customer response within 2 business days (if it’s a complex issue keep the customer informed). We have a standard signature block and expect proper spelling and grammar.

Jessica K. · Answer

Others have already recommended some good tips, but I totally back Jen in being concise and using bullet points.  There are so many people I work with who write 5+ paragraph emails that people tend to gloss over.  This isn't productive given how many emails my organization tends to send in a day.  Everyone is busy and wants to save time to bullet points are essential!

RANDI NASH · Answer

I am an absolute stickler for correct grammar and spelling within an email. I communicate often with people around the globe whose first language isn't English, so it always pains me to see co-workers relying on American English jargon, poor sentence structure, and 'text speak' to communicate in business emails (a swift death to the overuse of ellipses!).

As with all business emails, try to keep a positive tone in all of your communications. Anything sent on a company network can be traced so keep it as professional as possible. The amount of passive-aggressive corporate speak that passes as 'polite' is insane.

The most important tip of all: DO NOT SELECT 'REPLY ALL' (okay, maybe sometimes you need to hit 'reply all' for certain emails but please make sure to ask yourself if *everyone* in the recipient fields needs your response).

JB09718 · Answer

Great feedback so far! I would also recommend to watch for tone of voice too, read your email aloud. Sometimes certain sentences can accidentally come across short or snippy.

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