Email Etiquette

Follow Email Etiquette, Build Your Professional Image….. Kaniz Garments Ltd.228/A Tejgaon Industrial Area, Dhaka-1208.

Email Etiquette

Presented By :Md. Mamun Khan

(Asst. Manager – HR) Department of Human Resources

GROUP QA (Apparel Division)


Electronic mail most commonly called email

It’s a method of exchanging digital messages

Email operates across the Internet or other computer network

Popular email platforms: Gmail, Hotmail, Yahoo! Mail, Outlook, and many others. (Wikipedia)

What is Email:


Refers to the principles of behavior that one should use when writing or answering email messages.

Depends upon to whom we are writing-

Friends & Relatives

Superior, Partners, Subordinates and Customers

Email Etiquette:


A company needs to implement etiquette rules for the following three reasons:

Professionalism Efficiency

Security/ Protection from liability

Importance of Email Etiquette:

Bad email etiquette reflects badly on us.

Good email etiquette reflects well on us, improves our public perception and persona and increases the chance of a prompt and comprehensive response.


One thing before you start, before creating or responding to an email, ask yourself this: is email the right medium for this communication? If you are not sure, pick up the phone or walk over to the person and have a conversation. Email only if it is the right medium.

The first step in writing e-mail message: Identify the purpose Focus your objective Focus your content

Before you compose:


Subject line: Subject line should effectively summarize the

message Not use more than 6 or 7words in subject line Never use CAPITAL letter When replying, change the subject line when the

topic changes.

Salutations: Event (When to use) Salutation

The standard way to open an email is with Dear, the person's name (with or without a title), and a colon.

Dear Shaheen: or Dear Mr. Shaheen: or Dear Razia: or Dear Ms. Razia:

In the context of Bangladesh, if the reader is your Customer or Superior Dear Sir: or Dear Madam:


In the context of Bangladesh, if your reader is easy with some other salutation you can use.

Dear Samad Bhai:

Event (When to use) Salutation

If you don't know the reader well or if the email or the relationship is formal, use a title and a last name.

Dear Mr. Khan:

Unless you are certain that a woman prefers Miss or Mrs., use the title Ms. Dear Ms. Nusrat

If you are writing to two people, use both names in your salutation

Dear Mr. Alamgir and Ms. Farhana: or Dear Alamgir and Farhana:

Do not use "Sir" or "Madam" unless absolutely certain that your correspondent is male. .

If you don’t know the recipient’s name and gender use Dear Sir or Madam:

If you are addressing a group of people, you can say "Dear" plus the unifying attribute.

Dear Colleagues: or Dear Team Members:

Do not use two titles in one salutation. Ex: Dear Mr. Samad Sir: or Dear Mr. Dr. Samad:

Dear Mr. Samad: or Dear Samad Sir: Or Dear Dr. Samad:


The area where the message is entered

– Before you type anything into a new message, answer these two questions:Why am I writing this?What exactly do I want the result of this message to be? Opening:Begin with a line of thanks. Find any way to thank target receivers. This will put them at ease, and it will make you appear more courteous. For example: Thank you for contacting Group QA. Thank you for your prompt response.

Body [Anatomy of an email]


In the first 1-3 lines of your email, specify what this email is about after composing the mail answer the following questions:

Does it include action required? Does it require a reply back by a certain

date? What information is contained that the

reader will find necessary for their job?

Composing the Content


The four most common types of actions are: Action: recipient has to perform a physical action

(Actions should always have a deadline). Ex: "Please provide the Reconcile report of November’15 by 10th December’15."

Respond: recipient needs only to respond to your message. Ex: “Can you attend the staff meeting on Saturday?"

Read only: recipient needs only to read your message. Ex: “Please read the attached HR action plan before next HR meeting on Dec 12th."

For Information Only: recipient needs only to file your message for future reference. Even reading the message is optional. Ex: "Enclosed for your records.


Privacy: Email is not and never has been private. Once you

send an email, the recipient can and will do what they want with it. If you need to share private information:

Pick up the phone, use a different secure system, or use coded attachments.

Use your corporate email for work only. Never use it for personal stuff.

Use the blind copy (BCC) or mail merge function to protect the privacy of your contacts.


Attachments: When you are sending an attachment tell your respondent what the name of the file is, what program it is saved in, and the version of the program. Compress large attachments and send

attachments only when they are absolutely necessary.

Have a good virus scanner in place. People will not be very happy with mails full of viruses


Delivering Bad News: Deliver the news up front.

Avoid blaming statements. Avoid that sound ambiguous.

Maintain a positive resolve.Writing a complaint: You should briefly state the history of the problem to

provide context for your reader. Explain the attempts you made previously to resolve

the problem. Show why it is critical for the problem to be resolved

by your reader. Offer suggestions on ways you think it can be

resolved or how you are willing to help in the matter.


Before you hit Send, review... Read it as if you were an outsider — how clear is it? negative comments about management criticisms of staff or performance issues see if you can shorten the email bonuses or salary issues product or liability issues gossip humor or other ambiguities


Check, and then check again …….. Edit and proofread. You may think you're too busy to

do the small stuff, but your reader may think you're careless, unqualified, or unprofessional.

Review and spell-check your email one more time to make sure it's truly perfect.


Reply or Reply to all: Ask yourself: “Does everyone need to know this information?” Answer swiftly: Each e-mail should be replied to

within at least 24 hours and preferably within the same working day.

If the email is complicated, send an email saying that you have received it and that you will get back to them. This will put the people’s mind at rest and usually they will then be very patient!

Respond only to messages that require one. When replying make sure that you are adding value to the conversation, truly moving it forward.


Reply or Reply to all: While replying to an e-mail message with an

attachment, which is to accompany your reply, you must forward the message instead of using the "Reply" or "Reply All" button. Otherwise, the attachment is not included with the message.

Be conscious of responding to the sender or Reply to all Do not overuse Reply to all.

Don’t reply to spam


The Closing:In the business world, ending an email professionally is just as important as perfecting the rest of the message. If you do it sloppily, you might lose some precious business opportunities. Courtesy is always important, no matter how short the email is. Before you end your email you can add some

sentence as follows: Thank you for your patience and cooperation. Thank you for your consideration.


The Closing: Include an accurate follow-up statement:

I will send you additional information. I look forward to receiving your input. If you have questions or concerns, do let me know. I look forward to hearing from you. Please let me know if you need further assistance on this.

If a response is required, specify what, when.


Signatures: A professional signature makes it easy to contact you. Your email account can automatically add these data to the bottom of the email: Full professional name Job title Business phone/fax numbers Business street address Business website (if any) A legal disclaimer (if required by your

company).


Complementary Closings: Below table shows some complementary closings for various circumstances.

Best regards, Regards,Sincerely, Thank you,

For casual email closing Best wishes,Cheers,

Event (When to use) Complementary Closings

For a professional email closing

Yours Sincerely, Yours Faithfully,

For more formal email closing


Dos… Write in a positive tone Be concise and to the point Read the email before you send it Answer all questions, and pre-empt further

questions. Use proper spelling, grammar & punctuation Use a font that has a professional or neutral look. People just want to know what you want, so state

that, in the first sentence. Provide all supporting information that will help

the recipient complete an action or respond successfully.


Dos… Keep language gender neutral Use active instead of passive Avoid using URGENT and IMPORTANT Use proper structure & layout Add disclaimers to your emails - This can help

protect your company from liability. Take one last look at your distribution list – is this

email necessary for all recipients. Once the email discussion goes beyond 2-3 replies

anyway, it’s time to pick up the phone. Check your Inbox just before you leave office.


Dos…Write about one thing Stick to one subject, with one request. Once that’s done, you can send a second one. If you write about multiple things, with

multiple requests, it is likely that: your email won’t be read or acted on the receiver will only do one of those things


Dos…Keep flaming under control Before you send an email message, ask

yourself, “would I say this to this person’s face?”

Calm down before responding to a message that offends you. Once you send the message it is gone.

Read your message twice before you send it and assume that you may be misinterpreted when proofreading.

Empathize with the sender’s frustration and tell them they are right if that is true.


Don’ts ……. Do not copy a message or attachment

without permission Do not use email to discuss confidential

information Do not take your reader by surprise or

press them to the wall. Do not wait until the end of the day to

introduce a problem or concern via memo or email.

Avoid writing a litany of concerns that you have been harboring for a long period of time.

Don’t overuse the High Priority function Never respond if you are upset: Take some

time to cool off and consider appropriate response.


Don’ts ……. Don’t forget to attach documents Don’t Attach unnecessary files Never Use sarcasm or rude jokes as it a

professional/ formal communication. Avoid irrelevant information: It can

confuse your reader. Avoid using long sentences Do not write in CAPITALS Do not overuse Reply to All Do not use abbreviations Don’t write a long introduction

Email Etiquette

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