Email Etiquette Tips - How to Write Better Emails at Work

Summary

In this video, Adriana Girdler, president of CornerStone Dynamics, shares essential email etiquette tips for a professional setting. She advises against 'reply all' misuse, emphasizes the importance of clear and descriptive subject lines, and suggests adding email addresses last to avoid mistakes. Prompt response, avoiding insults, and clear messaging are also highlighted. Girdler recommends using out-of-office alerts when unavailable and knowing when to use phone calls instead of emails. She also stresses the importance of labeling attachments for clarity. These techniques are aimed at enhancing one's professional image and efficiency in communication.

Takeaways

• 🔍 Avoid using 'reply all' unless necessary to prevent inbox clutter.
• 📝 Include a relevant and descriptive subject line to help recipients prioritize emails.
• 🌟 Be specific in your subject line by using bold text for actions or urgency to make your email stand out.
• 📋 Add email addresses at the end of composition to prevent sending unfinished or incorrect emails.
• 🕒 Respond promptly, ideally within 24 hours, to show professionalism and respect for others' time.
• 🚫 Never insult anyone in an email, as it leaves a permanent record that could harm your professional reputation.
• ✅ Write clear and concise messages, using bullets if necessary, to ensure the main points are easily scanned.
• 📎 Use out-of-office alerts when you are unavailable to manage expectations and show courtesy.
• 📞 Know when to use the phone instead of email for time-sensitive or critical communications.
• 📁 Label your attachments clearly and provide a brief description in the email body to help recipients quickly identify them.

Q & A

What is one of the key pieces of advice for using 'reply all' in a professional email setting?

Only use 'reply all' if everyone on the email chain truly needs to know the answer to your response; otherwise, reply directly to the person who needs the information.

How can including a relevant and descriptive subject line improve email communication?

A relevant and descriptive subject line helps recipients quickly identify important emails among hundreds of others in their inbox.

What technique does Adriana Girdler recommend for highlighting action items in an email subject line?

Adriana recommends using bold text in the subject line with phrases like 'ACTION NEEDED' followed by a specific aspect of what is needed.

Why is it advised to add email addresses last when composing an email?

Adding email addresses last allows you to review your email content and ensure you are sending it to the correct recipient, preventing the accidental sending of unfinished or incorrect emails.

What is the golden rule for responding to emails according to the transcript?

The golden rule is to respond promptly, ideally within 24 hours, even if it's just to acknowledge receipt and indicate a need for more time to provide a full response.

Why is it crucial never to insult anyone in an email?

Emails leave a paper trail and can be forwarded, so insulting someone can have lasting negative impacts on your professional reputation.

How can writing a clear and concise message help in email communication?

A clear and concise message ensures the recipient quickly understands the purpose of the email, especially since many people scan emails rather than reading them thoroughly.

What is the suggested approach if you have a very long email to send?

Consider turning the lengthy content into a Word document or Excel file and sending it as an attachment, keeping the email body focused on action items.

Why is it important to set an out-of-office alert when you are unavailable to respond to emails promptly?

An out-of-office alert informs people that you are busy and unable to respond immediately, setting expectations and preventing misunderstandings.

When should you consider picking up the phone instead of sending an email?

You should consider calling if you need to cancel a meeting, deliver bad news, or if the recipient is not checking their email regularly.

Why is it recommended to label attachments in an email?

Properly labeling attachments helps recipients quickly identify what each file contains without having to open them, especially when there are multiple attachments.

Outlines

00:00

💼 Professional Email Etiquette

Adriana Girdler, president of CornerStone Dynamics and an efficiency expert, shares essential techniques for maintaining professional email etiquette. She advises avoiding 'reply all' unless necessary to prevent inbox clutter. It's important to include a relevant and descriptive subject line to help recipients prioritize emails. Adriana suggests being specific, such as using 'ACTION NEEDED' or 'URGENT' in the subject line to highlight the importance of the email. She also recommends adding email addresses last to prevent sending unfinished or incorrect emails. Prompt response within 24 hours is emphasized as a golden rule, and it's crucial never to insult anyone in an email due to the permanent record it creates. Messages should be clear, concise, and to the point, with important information highlighted. For lengthy information, it's suggested to attach a document and keep the email action-oriented. Setting an out-of-office alert when unavailable is also advised to manage expectations. Lastly, she suggests knowing when to use email and when to make a phone call for more personal communication. Attachments should be properly labeled with a brief description in the email body.

05:03

📢 Encouraging Feedback and Engagement

In the concluding paragraph, Adriana invites viewers to share their thoughts on email etiquette and engage with the content by writing 'email etiquette rocks' in the comments. She encourages viewers to subscribe to her channel and share the video with friends, family, and colleagues, expressing her anticipation for further interaction and signaling the end of the video with a farewell.

Keywords

💡Email etiquette

Email etiquette refers to the professional standards and practices that should be followed when sending and responding to emails in a business context. In the video, it is emphasized as a critical aspect of maintaining a professional image and avoiding miscommunications. The script provides various tips on how to improve email etiquette, such as avoiding 'reply all' misuse and responding promptly to emails.

💡Reply all

The 'reply all' function in emails allows a user to respond to all recipients of an email thread. The video advises caution with this feature, as it can lead to inbox clutter and unnecessary communication. It suggests using 'reply all' only when everyone involved needs to be informed, which is a part of maintaining good email etiquette.

💡Subject line

A subject line is the summary or title of an email's content that appears in the recipient's inbox. The video stresses the importance of having a relevant and descriptive subject line to help recipients prioritize their emails. It gives examples such as using 'ACTION NEEDED' or 'URGENT' to highlight the importance of the email.

💡Specificity

Specificity in email communication means being clear and direct about the purpose of the email. The video suggests that being specific helps the email stand out and ensures that the recipient understands the exact need or urgency. It is tied to the broader theme of professional communication, where clarity is key.

💡Action-oriented

An action-oriented email is one that prompts the recipient to take a specific action. The video recommends making emails action-oriented by using clear calls to action and, if necessary, attaching detailed information for reference. This approach is part of the video's overall message on effective email management.

💡Out-of-office alert

An out-of-office alert is an automated message that informs senders that the recipient is unavailable to respond promptly. The video highlights the importance of setting this alert when one is away or unable to respond within the usual timeframe, as a courtesy to correspondents and to manage expectations.

💡Professionalism

Professionalism in the context of the video refers to the conduct and communication standards expected in a business environment. It encompasses all the email etiquette tips provided, such as not insulting anyone in an email and being prompt in responses, which are all aimed at maintaining a professional image and reputation.

💡Clear and concise

Clear and concise communication in emails means expressing oneself in a way that is easy to understand and to the point. The video advises against long-winded emails and suggests using bullet points or attachments for detailed information to ensure the message is quickly grasped by the recipient.

💡Attachments

Attachments in emails are files that are included along with the message. The video advises labeling attachments properly and providing a brief description in the email body to help recipients understand the content and relevance of each file. This contributes to the overall efficiency and clarity of email communication.

💡Phone communication

The video suggests knowing when to use email and when to pick up the phone for communication. It implies that while email is efficient for certain types of communication, there are situations, such as urgent matters or delivering bad news, where a phone call may be more appropriate to convey empathy and professionalism.

💡Scanners

In the context of the video, 'scanners' refers to the behavior of many email recipients who quickly scan emails rather than reading them thoroughly. The advice to keep emails clear and concise is given with this in mind, to ensure that the key points are easily spotted and understood by those who may not read the entire email.

Highlights

Avoid using 'reply all' to prevent inbox clutter.

Only 'reply all' when everyone on the thread needs to know the answer.

Include a relevant and descriptive subject line to prioritize emails.

Be specific in the subject line, using bold for actions or urgency.

Add email addresses last to avoid sending unfinished or incorrect emails.

Respond to emails promptly, ideally within 24 hours.

Never insult anyone in an email due to the permanent record it creates.

Write clear and concise messages to ensure the point is understood immediately.

Use bullet points for scanning and consider attachments for detailed information.

Set an out-of-office alert when you are unavailable to respond within 24 hours.

Know when to use the phone instead of email for certain communications.

Label attachments properly to avoid confusion and provide context.

Provide a brief description of attachments in the email body.

Maintain proper email etiquette regardless of the communication method used.

Engage with the community by commenting and sharing the video.

Subscribe to the channel and encourage others to do the same.

Transcripts

Most of us know how to send an email but when you go from college to the

professional world there are different rules and expectations associated with

it. Poor email etiquette can actually sabotage your professional career so

what are some tips in order to make your emails better and more professional?

Hi, I'm Adriana Girdler, president of CornerStone Dynamics and an efficiency

expert and in this video I'm going to share with you some tried and true

techniques that are going to ensure that your emails rock!

Avoid "reply all." In most cases, reply all's can be the

bane of existence in corporations. They just clutter up the inbox. Really think

long and hard when you are going to be replying to an email, only 'reply all' if

people truly need to know the answer but besides that, just reply to the person

who needs to know. Include a subject line that is relevant and descriptive. We can

get hundreds of emails in our inbox so how do we know which one to go to that

is really important? Be specific, one of the techniques I use,

if I have an action for someone I'll literally put bold in my subject line,

ACTION NEEDED and then a very specific aspect of what it is I need or if it's

something that's urgent I'll go, URGENT so it pops out. You really want to be

specific to let your email stand out from the rest

Add email addresses last. I'm telling you this one from experience, alright, and you

do not want to go through this but we've all had at one point in our careers sent

an unfinished email to someone or we actually sent an email to the wrong

person because they had the same name and we all know with emails it get pops

up because we get really busy and the name pops up and we send it. Do your

email addresses last, it allows you to reflect on what you wrote, you can then

put in the people's name properly and you're not gonna have that problem of

sending an unfinished email accidentally or the wrong email because you finally

had an opportunity to read it and didn't like what was read. Respond promptly. Okay

so I usually say within 24 hours, is the golden rule, it's really aggravating when

you send an email out to someone and they don't reply back. You may not have

the answer right away but even the courtesy of just saying, 'Got it, I'll get

back to you, I need more time,' is huge, it shows how professional you are and

it's very much appreciated. Never insult anyone in an email, never ever ever ever

ever! No, don't do it. Now, you may be saying, 'that's a given' but you will be

surprised when you're in the moment and you're angry and

upset and you write an email off, you feel better but emails are paper trails and

someone will forward that email and you do not want to have that around, just don't

do it, don't insult people, it is not worth it for your professional career.

Write a clear and concise message get to your point

immediately in the email, bullet it because what happens is most people are

scanners so if you have this long-winded email and you buried information within

it, no one's gonna get to it because they don't know. Be clear and concise and if

you actually go into a very long email really consider putting it as a word

document or in excel, whatever your information is, as an attachment, so

therefore your email now becomes more action-oriented and then they can look

at that attachment in order to get the detailed information. Out of office alert.

It is really important that when you are away for a period of time, whether that's

vacation, a business trip, or you're not going to be really able to reply back to

an email as quickly as you want within that 24 hour rule, put an out-of-office

alert on your emails. It allows people to know that you're really busy and you're

not going to be able to respond to them. It gives them the information so that

they're not wondering and allows you to be the professional rockstar you are

because you're being courteous and kind. Know when to pick up the phone, email is

awesome but not everybody checks their email every day and in fact based on the

efficiency world, I do, I tell people only check their email in the morning and at

the end of the day so really know when to pick up the phone. If you have a

meeting cancellation, call people and let them know, if you have bad news, don't

deliver to an email, do it one on one. Know when to use an email and know when to pick

up the phone. Label your attachments, so you're sending out

an email, you have quite a few attachments with it,

label them properly, don't leave them in the file name that they originally were

slated in so if it is a picture and it's called "jpg 1" change it to what exactly

it is because when you have a slew of attachments you may not know exactly

what it's going to be when you open it. Now part of that is in the body of your

email with the bullet point, literally say and label what the attachment is,

give a brief description so people know which one they need to go to first.

Regardless of the communication that you're using, proper etiquette will never

go out of style. Tell me what you think, write "email etiquette rocks" in the

comments below, I'd love to hear from you. Please subscribe to my channel, pass this

along to your friends, family and colleagues, I look forward to hearing

from you and I'll see you at the next video, bye!