Recognizing and honoring the audience also means spending some time writing clear and thoughtful messages, sometimes in a brief form, and sometime by providing the context. The most frustrating message from someone is “Yes, I agree let’s do it” with no context or indication of the topic. Most people carry on so many conversations and are involved in so many projects and programs that the terse message with context can be very confusing, especially if the e-mail address is not immediately recognizable.

In addition, recognizing and honoring the audience means not sending everyone a copy of every message; it means tailoring the response to the person who will be reading it, and it means restricting use of the “reply all” button.

E-mail Etiquette Guidelines
Following the principles of paying attention to the audience and trying to communicate clearly, the key guidelines for e-mail etiquette include:

• Provide a clear statement of the subject in the subject box. It helps people sort e-mails and encourage prompt reading. If the subject changes over time in a long back-and-forth trail of e-mail, change the subject to recognize the current topic.

• Respond promptly. Although e-mail responses can take longer than tweets or instant messages, students should respond promptly to any e-mail they receive. Even just a quick note indicating that the message was received can help in situations where the sender is trying to communicate something important.

• Avoid ALL CAPS. In e-mail conversation, ALL CAPS IS SHOUTING AND SHOULD BE AVOIDED. Notice the response you had to the previous phrase; if the font was larger, your response about being yelled at might be even stronger. It gets in the way of conversation and good communication

• Review and edit e-mail before sending. Everyone has heard the horror stories of the message going to the wrong person because the sender did not check the correct names of the persons to whom the e-mail is directed. Equally as difficult is the situation where the message is not clear or even contains errors. Read and reread e-mail before you send it. Another sentence or a clarification can prevent a lot of awkward situations later.

• Avoid irony and facetiousness. Even with emoticons, it is hard to write with irony in an e-mail, in part because it is so short and in part because we are not used to showing tone of voice and facial expression in our writing.

• Ignore the “reply all” button. Too often, people respond with “reply all” when an individual response is sufficient. It simply clogs up people’s e-mail boxes and encourages people to ignore e-mails. It is also a waste of people’s time. Use “reply all” when it is appropriate, and use it sparingly.

• Keep emotional outbursts out of e-mail. They may be sent in haste and cannot be retracted, and can be saved and used against you in the future. They also do not acknowledge what is happening to the receiver when he or she reads the message. Try a personal meeting or a telephone call.

• Save long and complex discussions for meetings and telephone calls. They are too difficult for e-mail and often hard to read on smart phones. In fact, some smart phones do not download the complete message, which can cause a great deal of misinterpretation. If you have a complicated issue to discuss, arrange a telephone call or a personal meeting.

E-mail etiquette is important; we need to remind our students that communication is an art that recognizes the dignity and importance of the receiver. Therefore, take the time to consider what you are saying and whether e-mail is the best format and structure for the person who will be reading it. A personal conversation might be more productive. Recognizing your audience will go a long way to solving potential e-mail problems.

The E-mail Pledge
To help people recognize the importance of etiquette in e-mail, you might encourage your students to take the following e-mail pledge. It focuses on using e-mail with sensitivity to the audience and all groups of e-mail users.

I will do my best and make an effort to learn about and follow proper E-mail Etiquette so I can communicate with courtesy and clarity so as to avoid misunderstandings. E-mail is not just about me—it is about the person on the other side of the screen as well!

I will do my best to ensure I don’t hide behind this screen to say and do things I would otherwise not do if face-to-face with those I e-mail. I will type to others as I would have them type unto me!

I will do my best to make an effort to understand technology enough to be able to use it properly so that my lack of knowledge doesn’t have a negative impact on those I communicate with.

As of October 2011, 1,257,845 people had taken the e-mail pledge. For more information about the pledge, visit www.e-mailetiquettepledge.com.

Summary
Thank you for reading this column about e-mail etiquette practices, which I hope we all practice and teach our students. Next month, we will continue our discussion of social media and communication with advice for students about Facebook and other programs. If you have comments about this topic or suggestions for others, send them to me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and I will include them in future “Mayo’s Clinics.”

Dr. Fred Mayo, CHE, CHT, is a clinical professor at New York University and a frequent presenter at CAFÉ events nationwide.