Email Etiquette Training

Good Afternoon Everybody!

My name is Aparna Wali and I come from a place called Whitefield, where there are now less fields
left and more blacks in form of pollution. By profession, I am a behavioural trainer and a practising
Coach. I bring along 11 years of HR experience with varied industries like manufacturing, IT, Telecom
and Engineering services. My last fulltime assignment was with Bharti Airtel, wherein I played the role
of TMD Lead for four South Circles and HRBP for Karnataka circle of their HOMES business. On the
personal front, I am married to Pavan Gupta, who is currently working with Telstra and is leading their
India Sales team for their enterprise business.

I welcome each one of you to today’s training program and it is called @Email Etiquette@. As you are
aware this training program is scheduled from 09:00 AM to 06:00 PM. Agenda for today’s training will
be:
 Introduction and Agenda Setting
 Understanding Email Etiquette
 Effective email structure
 Basic Rules of Effective email writing
 7 C’S OF Effective Communication
 Practise of writing emails
 Understanding your Email policy
 Email Quiz
 Email Pledge - I PROMISE TO SEND ONLY RELEVANT INFORMATION TO RELEVANT PEOPLE
 Feedback and Closing

We shall have our first break around 10:30 AM, break for lunch at 01:00 – 02:00 PM and take our
second break at 04:00 PM. If anybody of you is feeling unwell or experience any discomfort during the
session then he/she should not hesitate to inform me; we shall seek the support from your HR SPOC
and address it immediately. I also request you to keep your mobile phones on silent mode and not
even in vibration mode to seek undivided attention and participation in the class.

Before we begin the main training, I would like to inform you all that this session will be fun, exciting
and relevant only with your participation. You all are free to ask questions at any point of time related
to the concept being discussed and clear your doubts. There is no negative marking or DARK DEEP RED
color mark for any answers or questions in the class. Sit back, open your mind, relax your muscles and
listen to this story.

Participants Introduction – Divide the group into pairs of 2 participants. Give them 5 mins of time
to interview each other and record the following facts. The participants are then required to come
and introduce their partner.
 Name
 Location
 Experience if any
 Hopes and aspirations

Story Time: King Chaturveda – Rice water – Co-operation is a must and instructions given to achieve
a good purpose should be followed so that we have a positive outcome. There should be positive
participation in class. Mutual help and coordination is a must in order to get the best out of this
program.
Session Objectives: - Learning Outcome

 Write well-structured, compelling emails that get a positive response from colleagues and
customers.
 Apply writing and formatting skills to further engage your recipients and deepen your ability
to persuade.
 Learn the dos and don’ts of professional email writing, so personal and brand image is
protected at all times

I Module – Understanding Email Etiquette

According to recent statistics, there are 4.3 BILLION GLOBAL EMAIL USERS AND THERE IS AN
EXCHANGE OF 269 BILLION EMAILS SENT DAILY. And I presume that in this class, each one of you have
your personal email account. So, what do you understand by an email? Can anybody share their
understanding with the class?

Email is text message sent via the computer from one person to another. It is prefixed by E as it is sent
thru electronic medium i.e., Internet. It is One to Many and almost free.

What do you understand by Email Etiquette? Guidelines governing communication on the internet.
Rules for how to communicate appropriately and respectfully online.

Why it is important for an employee like you and me to understand email etiquette?

 Helps you make a good impression and also act an agent of success in your job
 Make it more likely that you will get a response you want
 Improve the effectiveness of your communication
 Increase productivity
 Gain Confidence
 Email is a formal correspondence

II EFFECTIVE EMAIL SRUCTURE:

The six key components to structure business Email:

 Subject Line
 Greeting
 Intro/Purpose
 Detail
 Ask/Action
 Closing/Sign-off

Subject Line:
 Make the subject line clear, concise, and meaningful.
 It should summarize, not describe.
 Avoids one-word descriptions (e.g., Important, Help, or Urgent).
 Change the subject line if it is vague, messy, or not related to the message.
 Use Subject Line Hashtags as a way to standardize Subject Lines and provide key information
such as purpose and urgency.
 For short messages, use subject line only message ending with “EOM” (shorthand for "end-of-
message").
  Bad Subject Line: “Re: Re: Re: Need to talk about change”.
 Good Subject Line: “Important: Project Orion Timeline Acceleration”.
The subject line highlights the importance of an Email and the key information or topics within the
message.
Greeting (or 'hello'):
 Use the addressee’s name and title if it is a formal message.
 Follow institutional protocols for the use of greetings.
 Casual business communications do not always need a formal greeting - they can often just
list the recipient names.
The greeting makes your first impression - ensure you identify people cordially and properly!

Intro/Purpose:
 Clearly and concisely explain the purpose, question or issue.
 One or two sentences at most - you will add the necessary detail below.
 Avoid Emails that span more than one topic or request, unless they are closely related or
linked.
The Intro/Purpose provides a summary of the issue or request. By reading the intro, the recipient
understands the context of the detail to follow.

Detail/Body:
 Provides the necessary background or supporting detail.
 Limit yourself to several bullet points or a few, short paragraphs.
 Only provide the minimum information needed to explain the issue or ask the question.
 Ensure you provide brief explanation of the five key questions; What? When? Where? How?
Why?
 If you need more than a page of detail, consider attaching the detail in a Word document or
set a meeting to discuss.
 When the Email has a file attachment, ensure you refer to it in the message, what it contains,
and any actions needed.
 Be polite, professional, and respectful when presenting issues or asking questions.
 Avoid sarcasm, jokes, humour, or tone that can be misinterpreted.
The Detail/Body provides the background information about the issue or needed to help answer the
question. If there is too much information to convey in a page, consider if another type of
communication or even a formal meeting is more appropriate.

Ask/Action
 Provide a specific call for needed action.
 State the response or action you want to receive.
 Ensure you are clear about exactly “who” needs to perform “what”.
 If there are deadlines, provide the "when" prominently to the recipients.
The Ask/Action is one of the most important components of the Email message and where you state
exactly what you are looking to get, from whom, and by when. Unfortunately, it is often omitted or
not well defined.

Closing/Sign-Off/Good-bye:
 Uses phrases or words conveying respect and formality (e.g., “Sincerely,” “Best regards,”
“Best”).
 Include signature lines that contain helpful contact information.
 Follow institutional protocols for use of closings/sign-offs.
 Casual, routine business communications often do not use formal sign-offs.
The Sign-off is where you provide a courteous "thank you" for assistance and provide required contact
information.

Courtesy - http://www.emailoverloadsolutions.com/blog/structure-business-email

III Basic Rules of Email Communication

Email is a big part of your company communications to customers, to business partners and internally
within the company. Therefore, it is essential for every employee to learn and practice the basic rules
for their formal communication within and outside their organisation.

Rule 1 – Answer swiftly Your customers’ send you email because they want quick responses. The
golden rule for email is to reply within 24 hours, and preferably within the same working day. If your
response email is complicated, just send an email confirming receipt and letting them know that you
will get back to them. This will ease the customer's mind!

Rule 2 – Use a meaningful subject line Try to use a subject that is meaningful to the recipient as well
as yourself. For instance, when you send an email about a product, it is better to mention the actual
name of the product, e.g. 'Product An information' than to just say 'Product information'. It also makes
it easier to search for old emails when the subject line is relevant and specific to the content of the
email.

Rule 3 – Don’t abuse the “Reply to All” Only use Reply to All if you really need your message to be
seen by each person who received the original message. Sending off irrelevant or unnecessary replies
to everyone on the list is just annoying and confusing. However, if communication is vital between all
parties in an email thread, use the Reply to All to keep everyone in the loop. If you only use Reply in
such a case, the recipient may have to forward your email to everyone else, which is frustrating and
disjointed.

Rule 4 – Use the BCC Field When sending to many people, some people put all the email addresses in
the To: field. There are two drawbacks to doing that: (1) the recipient knows that you have sent the
same message to a large number of recipients, and (2) you are publicizing someone else's email
address without their permission. Instead, consider using the Bcc: field. Put your mailing list group
name in To: field in their email (leaving the To: field blank may look like spam). If you have Microsoft
Outlook and Word you can do a mail merge so each recipient receives their own email, or create a
mailing group in your email software if it has that utility.

Rule 5 – Don’t leave out the message thread Include the original mail in your reply, in other words
click 'Reply', instead of 'New Mail'. We all receive many emails and we can't remember each individual
email. Leaving the thread may take a fraction longer in download time, but it saves the recipient time
looking for the related emails in their inbox. Remember, emails are not like regular printed
correspondence - the name of the game is to keep it quick and efficient – so include the thread!

Rule 6 – Read your email before you send it Treat email like any other official company document.
Read it before you send it. Spelling and grammar errors are just as unfortunate in email as anywhere
else in your corporate correspondence. Look out for potential misunderstandings, the tone, and
inappropriate comments; we use email because it is quick and easy but precisely that quickness may
cause more trouble than you bargained for!

Rule 7 – Confidential information Email is just too risky a place to include confidential information.
Ask yourself if you would want the content of your email displayed on a bulletin board. Never make
libellous, sexist or racially discriminating comments in emails, even as a joke. Consider implementing
a Disclaimer on the bottom of all corporate emails with statements on Breach of Confidentiality, Virus
Liability, etc. (Yes, you can be sued for sending an email that contains a virus!)

Rule 8 – Abbreviations & emoticons Be careful using email abbreviations such as BTW (by the way)
and LOL (laugh out loud) in business emails. Even today, some people still don't know what they mean,
so it's better to drop them. And emoticons, such as the smiley :-) don't belong in business email unless
a relaxed form of communication has long been established with the customer.

Rule 9 – Don’t attach unnecessary files Wherever possible try to compress attachments and only send
attachments when they are productive. Make sure you have good virus software in place to scan your
outgoing emails - a customer would not be happy if you send them documents riddled with viruses!

Rule 10 – Don’t forward junk Don't forward chain letters, virus hoaxes, chain email solicitations for
charitable causes even if they sound bona fide, funny pictures and jokes. Would you put these things
on your corporate letterhead? I don't think so. Don't ever send or forward emails containing libellous,
defamatory, offensive, racist or obscene remarks. Just one offensive remark can result in a multi-
million-dollar court case for you and your company.

Rule 11 – Be concise Do not make an email longer than it needs to be. Email is harder to read than
printed communications. A long email can be very discouraging and can be abandoned before the
recipient gets to your final point all the way down at the bottom. If it has to be long, consider including
a synopsis at the top of the email.

Rule 12 – Answer all questions & more Make sure you answer all the questions and pre-empt new
questions in your reply. If you don’t answer all the questions in the original email, you’re wasting your
own, your company’s and your customer’s time. Worse still, you are leaving the customer frustrated.
By answering all questions and pre-empting further inquiries, you are making a great impression and
reflecting thoughtful customer service. For example, a question regarding the types of credit cards
you accept can be replied to with the list of cards, information on other payment methods and even
a link to your website order information page!

Rule 13 – Make it personal Did you know that the most effective word in marketing is “you”? Not only
should the e-mail be personally addressed, it should also include personal, i.e. customized, content.
For this reason, auto replies are usually not very effective. When you get some questions over and
over, such as directions to your office or how to subscribe to your newsletter, save these texts as
response templates and paste them into your message when you need them. You can save your
templates in a Word document, or use pre-formatted emails.

Rule 14 – Use the proper structure & layout Reading from a screen is more difficult than reading from
paper so the structure and layout is very important for email messages. Make your paragraphs short
and use blank lines between each paragraph. When making points, number them or separate each
point with blank lines to keep the overview.

Rule 15 – Don’t overuse the High Priority Function We all know the story of the boy who cried wolf.
If you overuse the high priority option, it will lose its function when you really need it. Besides, even if
a mail has high priority, your message will come across as slightly aggressive if you flag it as 'high
priority'. Likewise, be careful using the words Urgent or Important in the subject line.

Rule 16 – Do not write in CAPITALS IF YOU WRITE IN CAPITALS IT SEEMS AS IF YOU ARE SHOUTING!!
This can be highly annoying, difficult to read and might trigger an unwanted response in the form of a
flame mail (you get yelled back at!). Therefore, try not to send email text in capitals.
Rule 17 – Be careful with formatting Remember that when you use formatting in your emails, the
sender might not be able to view formatting, or might see different fonts than you had intended. 10%
of email recipients cannot read html or rich text email; they can only receive in plain text. So, for them,
fonts, colors and other fancy formatting is lost. When using colors, make sure it is easy to read on the
background color you have selected. Remember, monitors vary in color presentation so what may
look good on your monitor may be unreadable when displayed on another monitor.

Rule 18 – Do not request delivery & read receipts This will almost always annoy your recipient before
he or she has even read your message. Besides, it usually does not work anyway since the recipient
could have blocked that function, or his/her software might not support it, so what is the use of using
it? If you want to know whether an email was received it is better to ask the recipient to let you know
that it was received.

Rule 19– Do not recall a message Chances are that your message has already been read. A recall
request just looks silly then. It is better to send an email saying you have made a mistake. This will
look much more honest than trying to recall a message.

Rule 20 – Do not copy a message or attachment without permission Do not copy a message or
attachment belonging to another user without permission of the originator; you might infringe on
copyright laws.

Rule 21 – Avoid long sentences as mentioned earlier, email is harder to read than printed material.
People don’t give email the same brain power as they do when reading for example a letter. Try to
keep your sentences to no more than 15-20 words.

Rule 22 – Keep your language gender neutral it is correct today to avoid sexist language such as: “The
customer should bring his car to our service department for an oil change”. You can use “his/her” or
keep it neutral by rephrasing the sentence: “The customer should bring the car to our service
department for an oil change”.

Rule 23 – Don’t reply to spam Spam may make you furious and you may want to reply with “flame
mail”. Many spam emails are sent to confirm that your email address is still valid, and by replying you
are only making yourself known to dubious marketers which may result in even more spam. Just delete
the spam, or use anti-spam software.

IV 7 C’s of Business Communication:

According to the 7 Cs, communication needs to be:

i. Clear
ii. Concise
iii. Concrete
iv. Correct
v. Coherent
vi. Complete
vii. Courteous

1. Clear
When writing or speaking to someone, be clear about your goal or message. What is your purpose in
communicating with this person? If you're not sure, then your audience won't be sure either. To be
clear, try to minimize the number of ideas in each sentence. Make sure that it's easy for your reader
to understand your meaning. People shouldn't have to "read between the lines" and make
assumptions on their own to understand what you're trying to say.

Bad Example
Hi John,
I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel, who's working in your department. He's a great asset,
and I'd like to talk to you more about him when you have time.
Best,
Skip
What is this email about? Well, we're not sure. First, if there are multiple Daniels in John's department,
John won't know who Skip is talking about. Next, what is Daniel doing, specifically, that's so great? We
don't know that either. It's so vague that John will definitely have to write back for more information.
Last, what is the purpose of this email? Does Skip simply want to have an idle chat about Daniel, or is
there some more specific goal here? There's no sense of purpose to this message, so it's a bit
confusing.

Good Example
Hi John,
I wanted to write you a quick note about Daniel Kedar, who's working in your department. In recent
weeks, he's helped the IT department through several pressing deadlines on his own time.
We've got a tough upgrade project due to run over the next three months, and his knowledge and
skills would prove invaluable. Could we please have his help with this work?
I'd appreciate speaking with you about this. When is it best to call you to discuss this further?
Best wishes,
Skip
This second message is much clearer, because the reader has the information he needs to take action.

2. Concise
When you're concise in your communication, you stick to the point and keep it brief. Your audience
doesn't want to read six sentences when you could communicate your message in three.
 Are there any adjectives or "filler words" that you can delete? You can often eliminate words
like "for instance," "you see," "definitely," "kind of," "literally," "basically," or "I mean."
 Are there any unnecessary sentences?
 Have you repeated the point several times, in different ways?

Bad Example
Hi Matt,
I wanted to touch base with you about the email marketing campaign we kind of sketched out last
Thursday. I really think that our target market is definitely going to want to see the company's
philanthropic efforts. I think that could make a big impact, and it would stay in their minds longer than
a sales pitch.
For instance, if we talk about the company's efforts to become sustainable, as well as the charity work
we're doing in local schools, then the people that we want to attract are going to remember our
message longer. The impact will just be greater.
What do you think?
Jessica
This email is too long! There's repetition, and there's plenty of "filler" taking up space.

Good Example
Watch what happens when we're concise and take out the filler words:
Hi Matt,
I wanted to quickly discuss the email marketing campaign that we analysed last Thursday. Our target
market will want to know about the company's philanthropic efforts, especially our goals to become
sustainable and help local schools.
This would make a far greater impact, and it would stay in their minds longer than a traditional sales
pitch.
What do you think?
Jessica

3. Concrete
When your message is concrete, then your audience has a clear picture of what you're telling them.
There are details (but not too many!) and vivid facts, and there's laser-like focus. Your message is solid.

Bad Example
Consider this advertising copy:
The Lunchbox Wizard will save you time every day.
A statement like this probably won't sell many of these products. There's no passion, no vivid detail,
nothing that creates emotion, and nothing that tells people in the audience why they should care. This
message isn't concrete enough to make a difference.

Good Example
How much time do you spend every day packing your kids' lunches? No more! Just take a complete
Lunchbox Wizard from your refrigerator each day to give your kids a healthy lunch and have more
time to play or read with them!
This copy is better because there are vivid images. The audience can picture spending quality time
with their kids – and what parent could argue with that? And mentioning that the product is stored in
the refrigerator explains how the idea is practical. The message has come alive through these details.

4. Correct
When your communication is correct, it fits your audience. And correct communication is also error-
free communication.
 Do the technical terms you use fit your audience's level of education or knowledge?
 Have you checked your writing for grammatical errors? Remember, spell checkers won't
catch everything.
 Are all names and titles spelled correctly?

Bad Example
Hi Daniel,
Thanks so much for meeting me at lunch today! I enjoyed our conservation, and I'm looking forward
to moving ahead on our project. I'm sure that the two-weak deadline won't be an issue.
Thanks again, and I'll speak to you soon!
Best,
Jack Miller
If you read that example fast, then you might not have caught any errors. But on closer inspection,
you'll find two. Can you see them? The first error is that the writer accidentally typed conservation
instead of conversation. This common error can happen when you're typing too fast. The other error
is using weak instead of week. Again, spell checkers won't catch word errors like this, which is why it's
so important to proofread everything!
5. Coherent (Clear, intelligent, comprehensive)
When your communication is coherent, it's logical. All points are connected and relevant to the main
topic, and the tone and flow of the text is consistent.

Bad Example
Traci,
I wanted to write you a quick note about the report you finished last week. I gave it to Michelle to
proof, and she wanted to make sure you knew about the department meeting we're having this Friday.
We'll be creating an outline for the new employee handbook.
Thanks,
Michelle
As you can see, this email doesn't communicate its point very well. Where is Michelle's feedback on
Traci's report? She started to mention it, but then she changed the topic to Friday's meeting.

Good Example
Hi Traci,
I wanted to write you a quick note about the report you finished last week. I gave it to Michelle to
proof, and she let me know that there are a few changes that you'll need to make. She'll email you her
detailed comments later this afternoon.
Thanks,
Michelle
Notice that in the good example, Michelle does not mention Friday's meeting. This is because the
meeting reminder should be an entirely separate email. This way, Traci can delete the report feedback
email after she makes her changes, but save the email about the meeting as her reminder to attend.
Each email has only one main topic.

6. Complete
In a complete message, the audience has everything they need to be informed and, if applicable, take
action.
 Does your message include a "call to action," so that your audience clearly knows what you
want them to do?
 Have you included all relevant information – contact names, dates, times, locations, and so
on?

Bad Example
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to send you all a reminder about the meeting we're having tomorrow!
See you then,
Chris
This message is not complete, for obvious reasons. What meeting? When is it? Where? Chris has left
his team without the necessary information.

Good Example
Hi everyone,
I just wanted to remind you about tomorrow's meeting on the new telecommuting policies. The
meeting will be at 10:00 a.m. in the second-level conference room. Please let me know if you can't
attend.
See you then,
Chris
7. Courteous
Courteous communication is friendly, open, and honest. There are no hidden insults or passive-
aggressive tones. You keep your reader's viewpoint in mind, and you're empathetic to their needs.

Bad Example
Jeff,
I wanted to let you know that I don't appreciate how your team always monopolizes the discussion at
our weekly meetings. I have a lot of projects, and I really need time to get my team's progress
discussed as well. So far, thanks to your department, I haven't been able to do that. Can you make
sure they make time for me and my team next week?
Thanks,
Phil
Well, that's hardly courteous! Messages like this can potentially start office-wide fights. And this email
does nothing but create bad feelings, and lower productivity and morale. A little bit of courtesy, even
in difficult situations, can go a long way.

Good Example
Hi Jeff,
I wanted to write you a quick note to ask a favour. During our weekly meetings, your team does an
excellent job of highlighting their progress. But this uses some of the time available for my team to
highlight theirs. I'd really appreciate it if you could give my team a little extra time each week to fully
cover their progress reports.
Thanks so much, and please let me know if there's anything I can do for you!
Best,
Phil
What a difference! This email is courteous and friendly, and it has little chance of spreading bad
feelings around the office.

Note:
There are a few variations of the 7 Cs of Communication:
 Credible – Does your message improve or highlight your credibility ? This is especially
important when communicating with an audience that doesn't know much about you.
 Creative – Does your message communicate creatively? Creative communication helps keep
your audience engaged.

Courtesy - https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_85.htm

V EMAIL TIPS:

1. INTRODUCTIONS ARE IMPORTANT: Always introduce yourself if you are writing to someone you
don't know or haven't corresponded with previously. If you've got the sender's address from a mutual
friend, mention that in your email. Introducing yourself is especially important if you're sending out a
survey or questionnaire to people whose addresses you have got from a database.

2. ALWAYS RUN A SPELL-CHECK: It's important to run a spell-check for official correspondence,
especially if you're sending an email from your phone. You don't want the auto-correct feature to
backfire on an official email, after all. Ensure your grammar and punctuation are correct as well.

3. USE THE REPLY-ALL FEATURE SPARINGLY: Only use the reply-all feature for an email that really
needs it. If the reply is meant for only one person, just reply to him/her. And don't use it to reply to a
sender's greetings for the festive season — you could find yourself being blamed for starting an
unnecessary email thread.

4. USE BCC FOR GENERIC MAILS: Use the Bcc field for when you are sending out mails to a very large
number of people who may not all know each other. It's also a way to ensure that all your contacts'
addresses are not out there for people unknown to them to access.

5. RESTRICT THE NUMBER OF ATTACHMENTS YOU SEND: Send heavy files via file-hosting services so
that you don't clog the recipient's inbox. You could also zip files or resize pictures. If you know you're
sending an email to someone who accesses his/her inbox on the phone, don't send several
attachments with it.

6. DON'T OVER-ABBREVIATE: Don't use too many abbreviations or in your email, like FYI, PFA, PDF or
FYR. It may confuse the recipient, who may also get the impression that you don't have the time to
type out a proper email. If you must use them, restrict it only to the subject line.
7. FORMATTING FUNDAS: Do not use all caps and bold fonts as this will give the recipient the
impression that you are shouting at him/her. The same goes for underlining in the middle of a lot of
text. Don't use fancy fonts or multiple font colours either.

8. WATCH YOUR TONE: Always be careful about how your email sounds. It may be an official email,
but it should not sound too abrupt. You shouldn't sound over-friendly either, especially if this is the
first time you are corresponding with the recipient. Moreover, don't send out an email if you're upset.
Save it as a draft and re-read it when you're calmer.

9. FIX YOUR FORWARDS: Make it a point to clean up forwards before you, in turn, forward them to
other people. Not only does this make the email look cleaner, but it also ensures that you don't give
away anyone else's email addresses.

10. CHECK WHO YOU'RE SENDING AN EMAIL TO: Always check the To field of an unsent email before
you send it. You don't want the wrong email being sent to the wrong person.

11. Out of Office Message: Before you leave the office for 1 day or more due to business travel or
holiday set up your extended message or out of office message on your email systems. If someone
emails you whilst you are away, an email will be sent to them advising you are not in the office.
• Provide an alternative person to contact in your absence
• Advise your date of return
• Don’t forget to turn it off when you return to work

VI EMAIL QUIZ

1. When writing an email message, paragraphs should:

a. Be long.
b. Be short.
c. Be indented.
d. Be invisible.

Answer: B. Short paragraphs are easier to read. Also, they’re less overwhelming because there is
more white space between them.
2. The best way to make several points in an email is:
a. Include all the points in one paragraph.
b. Include all the points in the last paragraph.
c. Use lists with bullets or numbers.
d. Hire an airplane pulling a banner with the information to fly over the office.

Answer: C. If you put more than one point in a paragraph, it may be overlooked. Lists and bullets
make each of your points stand out.

3. If you know the recipient is often in a hurry, the best way to send a supporting document is:
a. Put it directly in the body of the message.
b. Attach it as a separate document.
c. Type slowly.
d. Has it delivered by carrier pigeon?

Answer: A. When people are in a hurry, they’re less likely to open an attachment. Why? It takes
extra time. People are more likely to read something that’s right in front of them. To do this, you can
either type directly in the message window, or compose elsewhere. Then, highlight the text, copy,
and paste it into the window.

4. When sending a message, you should copy (“cc”):

a. Everyone in the department.
b. Your boss and your boss’ boss – so they know you’re working hard.
c. Only those people who absolutely MUST know.
d. The whole world. Why not? Everyone else does.

Answer: C. The “cc” function is the most abused function in email. Don’t be a pain!

5. When writing a Subject Line:

a. Use something general, such as “Greetings” or “Hello.”
b. Be specific, but brief.
c. Use several sentences.
d. Say, “If you don’t respond, I’ll send Uncle Guido to break your knee caps.”

Answer: B. The more specific and descriptive you are, the better chance you have of getting the
recipient to open the message.

6. How much space can typically be viewed in the Subject Line?

a. 25 – 35 characters.
b. 25 – 35 words.
c. 50 – 75 characters.
d. 50 – 75 words.

Answer: A. “Characters” are defined as every letter or space – anytime you hit a key or spacebar. The
typical subject line will display only 25 – 35 characters.

Score:
6 = You’re perfect. (But, you knew that already.) Keep emailing!
4 - 5 = You’re okay. Be a little more cautious, though.
2 - 3 = You could use some help.
1 = Ugh! Call me now! We’ll schedule your intense therapy immediately.