Email Etiquette PG

EDUEgypt Program Email Etiquette Participant's Guide

Information Technology Industry Development Agency Information Technology Institute

2 Email Etiquette Participant's Guide | EDUEgypt Program

Table of Contents

Module: Mind Map ......................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 4

Email Etiquette................................................................................................................................ 6

Structure of an Email .................................................................................................................... 11

Types of Business E-Mails ....................................................................................................... 21

Characteristics High-Impact Emails.......................................................................................... 26

E-mail Do's and Donts ................................................................................................................. 32



Module: Mind Map



Introduction

Email is a necessity in everyday life. It is a one-way communication; however, it highly impacts

the business life. BPO industry, being one of the rising industries around the world, makes it

necessary to study the rules that govern such way of communication. The Email Etiquette

module is specially tailored to the needs of the BPO industry as your language skills, and your

percussive, professional, and courtesy communication skills are the key requirements to work in

this field.

Communication in BPO field is not limited to voice communication only but simultaneously, as

an agent, you reply to emails of customers queries, solve problems, support information, or

propose a product promotion. Thus, email is playing a crucial role as a means of communication

in BPO. Therefore, you will study different types of emails, their importance, as well as special

tips and helpful notes on what is necessary and professional when delivering a specific message.

Module Objectives

Identify rising needs of business correspondence skills

Recognize the various elements of an email

Identify various types of emails

Recognize characteristics of high-impact emails

Write professional well-structured emails



WIIFM

This module will help you to:

Understand how to write an effective email in the BPO industry.

Help you communicate better with employees, supervisors and project managers.

Attain customer satisfaction by writing to-the-point concise emails to your customers, to help

resolve customers' issues.



Email Etiquette



What is Communication?

The transfer of ideas, emotions, thoughts and opinions from the sender to the receiver in such a

way, that the receiver understands them in the same meaning that the sender wishes to

communicate.

There are two broad media of communication:

Verbal Non Verbal

Verbal Communication:

Verbal communication is generally defined as spoken language. Some of the key components of

verbal communication are sounds, words, speaking, and language.

i.e. (Speeches, face-to-face discussions, telephone conversations, voicemail, television, radio,

recorded books and seminars, videos)

Non-Verbal Communication:

Written communication is a type of the non-verbal communication. It is the process of

communicating a message by creating a hard copy of the message.

i.e. (letters, reports, e-mails, memos, bulletins, employee manuals)



Email:

The system for using computers to send messages over the Internet; Email is an abbreviation

for Electronic Mail. The name explains it all. In this era, it is one of the most efficient, reliable

and fastest modes of communication.

Individuals, communities and organizations use emails extensively for their day-to-day

communications.

Voice and Email Comparison:

Note: Confidential is considered both an advantage and a disadvantage because:

Advantage: the email is between a number of recipients and nobody else can look at it

Disadvantage: if the email gets hacked, the confidentiality will be exposed

Written is also considered a disadvantage as it lacks the human element, for example tone

of voice.



What is Email Etiquette?

It refers to a set of do's and donts that are recommended by business

and communication experts in response to the growing concern that

people are not using their email effectively or appropriately.

It offers some guidelines that all writers can use to facilitate better

communication between themselves and their readers.

Emails can be broadly classified into two categories:

Formal Emails Informal Emails

Informal Emails:

These are emails that are written mostly for personal communication. In companies, this form of

email writing is not encouraged, especially while interacting with customers.

Example of an Informal Email:

Hey Dude,

How r u doin man ? Hwz life goin ? Dont see u much on facebook lately. did u hear about my engagement.

C Ya!

Yehia



Formal Emails:

Emails typed and sent for business or professional purposes are formal emails. These emails are

typed with special care, giving attention to every detail like the subject of the email, the use of

address field, the format of the email, etc.

Example of Formal Email:

Dear Mr. Watson,

This is to inform you that the interest on your home loan (Ref: XXXXX) has

been increased by 2% per year, starting from 1st July, 2012. The changes

have been made in response to the ongoing mortgage crisis.

A mail communicating the same has been dispatched. For any query or for

further information, please feel free to contact us on any of our toll free

numbers mentioned below.

Toll Free (US dialing): XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Toll Free (International dialing): XXXXXXXX

Thank you

Regional Manager, Home loans



Structure of an Email



There are eight important parts in a standard business mail:

1. Address Fields to / cc / bcc

2. Subject

3. Greeting

4. Opening

5. Lead-ins

6. Body / Content

7. Closing Statement

8. Signature

Sample of a Standard Email:

1. Your Mail Recipients to, cc, bcc:



First Party - To: The addresses in the 'To' are for the people you are directly

addressing.

Second Party Cc: "Cc" is short for "carbon copy" or "courtesy copy". The

addresses in the 'Cc' are for the people you are indirectly addressing. The recipients in the

cc field are usually not expected to undertake any action, the message is sent to them for

their own information only.

Note: When you send a message to more than one address using the Cc: field, both the

original recipient and all the recipients of the carbon copies see the To: and Cc: fields

including all the addresses in them.

Third Party Bcc: The long version of "Bcc" is "blind carbon copy". The Bcc: field

helps you deal with the problems created by Cc:. as it is the case with Cc: a copy of the

message goes to every single email address appearing in the Bcc: field.

The difference is that neither the Bcc: field itself nor the email addresses in it appear in

any of the copies (and not in the message sent to the person in the To: field, either).



The only recipient address that will be visible to all recipients is the one in the To:

field.

Note: Addressing more than four recipients at one time is not advisable.

2. Subject Grab Their Attention!

This is the area where most of us could do better. Many of your correspondents are faced

with large numbers of Emails when they check their inboxes.

You need to make your message stand out and make it easy for the person to decide when to

read your message. A good subject line also makes it easier to locate you message later.

When writing your subject line, consider:

It is the headline (think newspaper). It is arguably the most important line you write in an

email.

Ensuring your email is opened by using a good choice of wording in subject line.

Choosing words that are meaningful, clear, concise, descriptive, and conveying interest.

Summarizing message, allowing readers to see at a glance what the message is about.

Making it easy for recipients to triage your e-mail and find it later.

Restricting yourself to one subject per message.

Avoiding important or urgent; readers usually ignore such overused signals, instead

provide enough description that the reader understands the urgency of the message.

Examples of Subject:

Subject: Change of Plans

Subject: Marketing Meeting Rescheduled



3. Greeting:

Whenever we meet someone or pick up the phone, dont we say hello or hi? It is this

elementary courtesy that must be extended even while communicating via email. Hence, we

must ensure that we begin any such communication with a greeting or salutation.

WIIFM

Develops rapport and connection.

Creates a more professional impression

Salutations in Mails and Emails:

Dear Reader: Dear Reader, Dear Ms. Reader: Dear Mr. and Mrs. Reader: Dear Sir or

Madam: Hi, Reader, Reader,

Rules for Business Mails:

The standard way to open a business mail is with Dear, the person's name (with or

without a title), and a colon, like this:

Dear Louise: Dear Ms. Chu: Dear Mr. and Dr. Paige: Dear Professor Amato: Dear

Patrick:

Note: If you do not know the reader well or if the mail or the relationship is formal, use a

title and a last name (Dear Ms. Brown). Otherwise, use the first name (Dear Gila).

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

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

Dear Mr. Trujillo and Ms. Donne: Dear Alex and Drenda:

If you do not know a person's gender, use the full name rather than a title:

Dear Dana Simms: Dear T.K. Spinazola:

If you are writing to a company rather than any specific individual, use the company

name:

Dear Syntax Training: (This is considered slightly informal.)



Note: With every new email you have to write a new salutation, even if it is for the same

person

4. Opening:

Opening statements may be used to establish rapport.

Examples:

Trust you are having a nice day.

Thank you for your response.

"I am writing in response to the case opened in relation to (person).

Note: Rapport building statements may be inappropriate in some situations, like complain

and resignation emails

5. Lead-ins:

Use the lead in of a similarly to a headline, to save readers valuable time. Help your readers

ascertain the message without reading the entire email. They can easily skim through to find

supporting details that pertain to them.

For example, an interoffice memorandum may begin, Our fourth-quarter sales have

increased by 55 percent over the previous year. Follow this statement with ancillary data,

such as how the feat was achieved, who is responsible for the success or how this will

positively affect the firm.

Examples:

To respond to a mail of complaint:

Thank you for writing to us about your experience in our copy center last week.



To say thank you:

Thank you so much for contributing the one-year corporate club membership to our

auction.

To confirm an agreement:

I am happy to write to confirm our agreement about the summer workshop.

To provide a reference:

Sallie Dell has asked me to provide information to you in support of her job application,

and I am pleased to do so.

To share information:

I received some important information from Dr. Owens, and I believe it will be useful to

you as you analyze the marketing data.

To explain a change in policy:

Because we value our relationship with you, I wanted to personally explain a new

policy we will implement in February.

To request:

I am applying for graduate schools in marine biology, and I would be very grateful if

you would write a Mail of reference for me.

To deny a request:

Thank you for writing to ask about attending the conference in Baltimore. I wish I could

approve your request.

To respond to a job advertisement:

I fully meet or exceed the requirements of the Business Analyst III position, and I am

pleased to apply for it.

To report on a site visit:

Suzanne Villarreal and Dale Cunningham visited the site on January 12, and they were

very impressed with your safety program and hazardous materials policies. This Mail

covers their observations.

To apologize:

Please accept my apology for missing the meeting yesterday. I am very sorry that I was

unable to attend.



To congratulate:

Congratulations on successfully passing your bar exam. You are now officially an

attorney!

The previous lead-in sentences have three things in common:

They get to the point. Each one answers the reader's question "What's this about?"

Captures readers' attention and motivates them to read on.

They are concise.

They contain positive language: thank you, please, contributing, happy, pleased,

congratulations, grateful, successfully, impressed, etc.

6. Body of the Email:

The purpose of your email text or body is to convey a message to your addressees as quickly

and clearly as possible.

Emails should not be heavily worded, as much as possible. On the other hand, if the quantity

of information is huge, we should arrange the information in a simple and comprehensible

manner.

Bullets and Numbering:

Organizing the main points of discussion by numbering/bulleting makes it possible for the

writer to compress long sentences and paragraphs into four or five bullet points, this makes it

easier for the recipient to follow.

A Table of Contents:

The writer (of a long email) does the reader a great favor by providing a table or a list which

includes all the points that are further written about in your email. Just like the summary, the

table of contents should be provided at the onset of the message.



Characteristics of High-impact Emails:

Simple and Concise

Short and to the point

Organized Content

Appropriate Words and Sentence Construction

Effective Language

7. Closing Statement:

The closing should continue the "line" of your e-mail and add a little flourish of feeling to

wrap everything up. You can conclude your email in the closing statement or close up with a

call of action.

Example:

Looking forward to ...

Thank you for ...

Please contact me if you ...

8. Signature:

Complimentary closing:

Those are the phrases that come before the signature in a mail.

Example:

Very truly yours,

Respectfully,

Sincerely yours,

Sincerely,

Best regards,

Regards,



Signature:

There are many ways you can format your email signature, and while one may not be perfect

in all situations, there are some universal guidelines that can help you create a signature that

is professional, easy to digest and informative.

Make sure to include:

your name

your company and position

how to get in touch with you

Email Signature Tips:

Keep it as short as you can while providing all of the information you deem most

important (four lines is the accepted standard).

Remember that simple plain text is best; skip colors, special fonts and graphics.

Avoid including multiple phone numbers and email addresses. Pick your contact

preference and get rid of the rest.

Only include IM details and Skype account information if you want to be contacted that

way by anyone who sees your message.

Skip your mailing address not every recipient wants or should have access to that

information.

Include links to your most important social media profiles, only if they are appropriate.

Include your email address. You cannot rely on various email clients to include header

information in replies and forwards.

Example:

John Smith

President | Top Web Design USA

555-555-5555 | [email protected] | http://www.websiteurl.com

Twitter: http://twitter.com/twittername | LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/linkedinname



Types of Business

E-Mails



Acceptance Mail:

Acceptance mails are a professional way to respond to an organization that offers you an open

position. Your acceptance mail should state your intention to accept their position and also

reiterate different aspects of the job offer, such as: salary amount, benefits, work schedule, and

the day you will begin working for the company.

Example:

I am very happy to hear that you have chosen me for your management position at Company

ABC. Please consider this mail as my official acceptance.

Acknowledgement Mail:

An acknowledgment mail is very useful in confirming that you have received a mail,

communicating important information, assuring a client that you have received his/her request,

expressing appreciation for an invitation, recognizing achievements or accomplishments and

building goodwill and trust.

Example:

Thank you for your recent application for the above position. We will be back in touch as soon

as we have reviewed all applications and have further feedback.

Application Mail:

A mail of application, also known as a cover mail, is a document sent with your resume to

provide additional information on your skills and experience. A mail of application typically

provides detailed information on why are you are qualified for the job you are applying for.

Effective application mails explain the reasons for your interest in the specific organization and

identify your most relevant skills or experiences.

Your application mail should let the employer know what position you are applying for, why the

employer should select you for an interview, and how you will follow-up.



When writing an application mail you should include:

First Paragraph: Why you are writing - mention the job you are applying for and where you

found the listing.

Middle Paragraph(s): What you have to offer the employer - mention why your skills and

experience are a good fit for the job.

Last Paragraph: Say thank you to the hiring manager for considering you and note how you

will follow up.

Example:

I am writing to apply for the programmer position advertised in the Times Union

Inquiry Mail:

An inquiry mail, also known as a prospecting mail or mail of interest, is sent to companies that

may be hiring, but have not advertised job openings. Inquiry mails should contain information on

why the company interests you and why your skills and experience would be an asset to the

company. Also provide information on how you will follow up and your contact information.

Example:

I am interested in finance and I would like to inquire about positions at ABD Company.

Complaint Mail:

A complaint mail requests some sort of compensation for defective or damaged merchandise or

for inadequate or delayed services. The essential rule in writing a complaint mail is to maintain

your poise and diplomacy, no matter how justified your gripe is. Avoid making the recipient an

adversary.



Example:

I am disappointed because your product has not performed as it should because the battery

breaks down frequently.

Adjustment Mail:

Replies to complaint mails, often called mails of "adjustment," must be handled carefully when

the requested compensation cannot be granted. Refusal of compensation tests your diplomacy

and tact as a writer.

Example:

We would like to apologize for the problem we have caused because of our mistake regarding

your order last March 28, 2012.

Reference Mail:

Mails of reference include character reference mails and employment reference mails. Typically

"mails of reference" are addressed to "Whom It May Concern" or "Dear Sir/Madam".

Example:

I've been Joe employees manager at XYZ Company since 1997, and even promoted Joe to the

role of senior software engineer last year.

Refusal Mail:

A refusal mail is a negative response to either an invitation or a job offer. Its objective is to

notify the reader of a decision to decline.

Example:

Thank you for your employment offer for the position of Sales Manager with EquiServe. I am

unable to accept the offer since I have accepted a similar position with another company.



Resignation Mail:

Resignation mail provides official notice that you are terminating your employment with the

company.

Note: It is always better to resign in person, and then follow up with a formal resignation

mail/letter for your employment file.

Example:

Please accept this mail as my notice of resignation, effective Jan, 2, 2009. This was not an easy

decision to make. I am grateful for the rewarding employment I have had with Mina Co. After

much consideration, though, I have accepted a position with another company.



Characteristics High-

Impact Emails



Brief and Concise:

Messages should be concise and to the point. Think of it as a telephone conversation, except you

are typing instead of speaking. Nobody has ever won a Pulitzer Prize for a telephone

conversation nor will they win one for an e-mail message.

It is also important to remember that some people receive hundreds of e-mail messages a day, so

the last thing they want to see is a message from someone who thinks he/she is the next Dickens.

The shorter the sentence, the easier it is to understand, an email can read well if short sentences

follow long sentences, and vice versa.

Example:

Simplicity and Clarity:

Do not feel compelled to use bigger words or more complex sentences. Emails may undergo a lot

of back and forth without reaching anywhere if the responses are not clear.

Example:

Subsequent to the passage of

the subject legislation, it is

incumbent upon you to advise

your organization to comply

with it.

Keep it simple

After the law passes, you

must tell your team to

comply with it.

Dear Personnel Director:

On April 12, I received a

phone call from Ms. Sara

Jacob from Kampala, who

was once a data entry clerk

in your Kampala office.

She was under the direct

supervision of.....

Dear Personnel Director:

Would you verify the

employment of Ms. Sara

Jacob? She was a data entry

clerk in your Kampala

office. (fill in the details)

Get to the Point



Organization of Content:

The order in which information is presented:

Group similar information together.

Keep paragraphs short.

One paragraph for one central idea.

Develop the central idea with concrete facts and evidence.

Keep it focused and readable.

Use short sentences and active voice.

Use headlines, bullets, and numbers.

Tone of Message:

Tone in writing refers to the writers attitude toward the reader and the subject of the message.

The overall tone of a written message affects the reader just as ones tone of voice affects the

listener in everyday exchanges.

A business writer should consider the tone of their message, whether they are writing a memo,

letter, report, email, or any type of business document.

Write in a positive tone: Example when you complete the report instead of if you

complete the report.

Avoid negative words that begin with un, non, ex or that end with less (useless,

non-existent, ex-employee, undecided).

Powerful words to remember to use: please and thank you.

Stress the benefits for the reader.

Remember:

It is easy to change your tone when you are speaking. When you are writing, it is very hard to do

so.



How can I make sure my messages have the appropriate tone?

Use the following questions to determine the appropriate tone for your message.

Why am I writing this email?

Who am I writing to and what do I want them to understand?

What kind of tone should I use?

Example 1:

To: Female employees

From: H. Honcho

Subject: Dress code

Clients will be visiting next week. Halter tops and jeans will not make the right

impression. It is time you start dressing for the office instead of the beach. Leave your

flip-flops at home!

Example 2:

To: All staff

From: H. Honcho

Subject: Reminder about what to wear to work

Date: 1 July 2012

During the summer, our dress code is business casual. We think business casual means

clothes that feel comfortable and look professional.

Men Women

khaki pants casual pants and skirts

leather shoes leather or fabric shoes



Proof reading:

Sending an e-mail without proofreading is like shooting a gun without aiming! Dont forget the

rules of grammar and punctuation.

Re-read your email aloud, reading every word. Doing so will help you find errors as well

as sentences that do not make perfect sense.

Be sure to read the entire message before responding

Before clicking "Send", check the "To" line and your greeting.

Run a spell check when you complete your message.

Check for punctuation, spelling and grammatical errors.

Use of Capital in E-mails at a Glance:

Use capitals when appropriate. We capitalize:

Days of the week

Months

Holidays and Holy days

Insurance documents

Trade names

Titles

Geographical names

Streets, roads and motorways

Sections of a country

Continent

Tips:

To keep such errors to a minimum, we must try and refrain from creating long sentences.

Use easy to read plain text.

Using all caps or all bold mails is considered yelling



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.

Ex: This file is in MSWord 2000 under the name Lab File.

Zip attached files to reduce file size.

Timely responses:

Treat people as you would like to be treated.

We should understand that procrastination always manages to handicap effective

communication. Especially in the BPO industry, where operations run 24/7, if issues are not

resolved or communicated in a timely manner, huge losses could be incurred.

Apart from affecting the smooth running of business, not responding to mails on time is rude and

a proof of ones indifferent, lax or even callous attitude. At the end of the day, we work with

humans, not machines. We must acknowledge the senders message immediately and if

responding at that point in time is not possible, we should let the other person know that we

would send the response a little later.

How good is a phone call when you answer it after the phone stops ringing??

Before clicking the send button

Address only those people who need to be addressed; Reply All should be used carefully.

Remember to keep a safe 60 80 character length of your sentences

Run a spell check

Re read the entire mail and check your message for grammatical or logic errors



E-mail Do's and Donts



Email Do's:

DO check to see what your organisation's email policy is.

DO try to think about the message content before you send it out.

DO make sure that the content is relevant to the recipients. Nobody likes to receive junk

emails.

DO remember to delete anything that is not needed or is trivial.

DO read your mail out loud to ensure that the tone is that which you desire.

DO ensure that you have a relevant "Subject" line.

DO be patient, especially with inexperienced email users.

DO understand that languages such as English differ in spelling between different countries.

BE Specific who should respond.

DO determine file size and ask first when would be the best time to send attachments before

clicking send.

DO avoid large attachments

DO remember to tell people the format of any attachments you send if they are anything

other than basic Microsoft Office file types.

Do respond promptly

Do use a font that has a professional or neutral look.

Email Donts:

DONT make changes to someone else's message.

DONT broadcast email messages unnecessarily.

DONT use underlining for emphasis.

DONT use smiles or winks ;), and other graphical symbols

DONT overuse the facility of adding the level of importance to an email.

DONT keep mail on your server longer than necessary, especially large attachments.

DONT use excessive exclamation and question marks.

DONT conduct arguments in public, for example on a mailing list.

DONT reply to spam.

DONT use email to discuss confidential information.

Documents

Email Etiquette PG