{"id":5705,"date":"2014-05-09T09:06:43","date_gmt":"2014-05-09T07:06:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/?p=5705"},"modified":"2016-01-18T15:00:52","modified_gmt":"2016-01-18T13:00:52","slug":"e-mail-etiquette-dos-and-donts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/2014\/05\/e-mail-etiquette-dos-and-donts\/","title":{"rendered":"<!--:en-->E-mail etiquette: do&#8217;s and don&#8217;ts<!--:--><!--:af-->E-pos etiket: moets en moenies<!--:-->"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--:en--><\/p>\n<p>If there&#8217;s one area the queen of etiquette Emsie Schoeman hasn&#8217;t commented on, it&#8217;s e-mail. But don&#8217;t think that gives you any reason to escape certain guidelines just because the electronic world seems to operate on a more informal level. Even with e-mail you can land into trouble if you don&#8217;t behave properly.<\/p>\n<p>You&#8217;re probably wondering why e-mail etiquette even exists, in particular within the company milieu. There are three (very important) reasons, namely professionalism, efficiency and also protection against liability.<\/p>\n<p>We consulted the internet and here are a few hints for meticulous e-mail users.<\/p>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/files\/2014\/05\/email.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" align=\"right\" \/>1. Be concise and to the point<\/strong><br \/> Long e-mails are unnecessary and difficult to read. Avoid long sentences. Sentences should contain no more than 15 to 20 words.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.\u00a0Answer all questions and anticipate further questions<\/strong><br \/> This will prevent a series of follow-up e-mails to get all the information and you won&#8217;t waste your and someone else&#8217;s time.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Spelling and language<\/strong><br \/> Bad spelling and language create a bad impression and e-mail without capital letters or punctuation marks take effort to read.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Layout<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>Reading text on a screen is harder than written text and this makes layout in e-mails even more important. Use short paragraphs and adequate space between paragraphs.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Use a significant subject in the<\/strong><b>\u00a0<\/b><em><b>Subject<\/b><\/em><b><i>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><strong>line<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>Put the appropriate subject in the\u00a0<em>Subject<\/em><i>\u00a0<\/i>line in order for the receiver to immediately know what the e-mail is about. It saves time, explaining and creates context.<\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong>\u00a0<strong>Reply promptly<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>Immediately replying to an e-mail is generally expected. Don&#8217;t leave correspondence unanswered in your inbox for days when you could have answered it in a minute. Standard reply time for an e-mail is 24 hours, preferably the same working day. If you don&#8217;t have an immediate answer, just confirm you received the e-mail and will reply as soon as possible.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. No large attachments<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>Don&#8217;t send unnecessary large attachments with your e-mails. Some mail servers can&#8217;t handle large e-mails.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. Capital letters<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>Don&#8217;t use only capital letters. This implies that you are shouting at the recipient and can be interpreted as rude.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. Re-read before you send<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>Don&#8217;t send an e-mail in haste. Other than potential spelling mistakes, it&#8217;s important to make sure if you message is clear and understandable. Remember that the recipient can easily misinterpret something when you&#8217;re not speaking face-to-face.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. Don&#8217;t answer spam<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>Even if a spam e-mail claims you should reply to stop from receiving them, don&#8217;t reply. By replying to a spam e-mail, you are confirming your e-mail is active and more spam will be generated. Rather just delete the mail.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11. Don&#8217;t request delivery and read receipts<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>You will only irritate the receiver even before he&#8217;s read your message. Rather ask the person directly if necessary.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12. Don&#8217;t request messages to be recalled<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>The message has probably already been read and by recalling it, you&#8217;ll appear unprofessional. Send an e-mail explaining afterwards instead of recalling it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13. Don&#8217;t forward chain mails or virus hoaxes<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>Microsoft will not send you money if you send it to 20 people &#8211; and neither will any other company. Most chain mails warning against viruses are also hoaxes. Ignore and delete them.<\/p>\n<p><strong>14. Avoid the high priority option<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>If you use this option to often, it will lose its efficiency. Your correspondence may also come across as pushy and aggressive. The same goes for terms like &#8220;URGENT&#8221; and &#8220;IMPORTANT&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p><strong>15. Be careful with emoticons and abbreviations<\/strong><b><br \/> <\/b>Try not to use abbreviations such as LOL and BTW. Emoticons like the smiley :) are also not appropriate in business e-mails.<\/p>\n<p align=\"right\">SOURCE:\u00a0http:\/\/www.emailreplies.com\u00a0en\u00a0http:\/\/www.businessemailetiquette.com<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><!--:--><!--:af--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">As daar een area is waarop etiket-guru Emsie Schoeman nog nie oor kommentaar gelewer het nie, is dit e-pos. Maar moenie dink dat jy etiketriglyne kan ontsnap net omdat die elektroniese w\u00eareld meer informeel is nie. Selfs met e-pos kan jy jouself lelik vasloop as jy jou nie gedra nie.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Jy wonder waarskynlik hoekom daar enigsins iets soos e-pos etiket bestaan, spesifiek binne die maatskappy-opset. Daar is drie (baie goeie) redes, naamlik professionalisme, effektiwiteit en ook beskerming teen aanspreeklikheid vanuit `n regsoogpunt.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/files\/2014\/05\/email.jpg\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" align=\"right\" \/>Ons het gaan kersopsteek by die internet en hier is net `n paar wenke vir noukeurige e-posgebruikers.<\/p>\n<p><strong>1.<\/strong> <strong>Wees presies en tot die punt.<\/strong>\u00a0<br \/>Langdradige e-posse is onnodig. Wees kort en kragtig.\u00a0Vermy lang sinne. Sinne behoort `n maksumum van 15 tot 20 woorde te bevat.<\/p>\n<p><strong>2.<\/strong> <strong>Beantwoord alle vrae en spreek ook moontlike opvolgvrae aan<\/strong><br \/>Sodoende vermy jy `n string e-posse en mors jy nie jou of iemand anders se tyd nie.<\/p>\n<p><strong>3. Spelling en taalgebruik<\/strong><br \/>Slegte spelling en taal skep `n swak indruk en e-posse sonder enige hoofletters of leestekens lees moeilik. Gebruik jou speltoetser ook vir e-posse, nie \u00a0net vir amptelike dokumente nie.<\/p>\n<p><strong>4. Uitleg<br \/><\/strong>Teks op skerms is moeiliker om te lees en daarom is uitleg ook belangriker. Gebruik kort paragrawe en spasies tussen paragrawe.<\/p>\n<p><strong>5. Gebruik `n veelseggende onderwerp in die <em>Subject-<\/em>re\u00ebl<br \/><\/strong>Sit die toepaslike onderwerp waaroor die e-pos gaan in die\u00a0<em>Subject-<\/em>re\u00ebl, sodat die ontvanger onmiddellik weet waaroor dit gaan. Dit spaar tyd en gee konteks.<strong><br \/><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>6.<\/strong> <strong>Antwoord vinnig<br \/><\/strong>Die verwagting is dat `n e-pos vinnig beantwoord sal word. Moenie korrespondensie vir dae in jou posbus laat l\u00ea as jy dit binne `n minuut kon beantwoord nie.\u00a0Die standaard is 24 uur, verkieslik nog op dieselfde werksdag. As jy nie dadelik `n antwoord het nie, laat weet dat jy die e-pos ontvang het en so gou\u00a0moontlik terugvoer sal gee.<\/p>\n<p><strong>7. Groot aanhangsels<\/strong><br \/>Moenie onnodige groot aanhangsels saam met jou e-pos stuur nie. Sommige e-pos bedieners kan dit nie hanteer nie.<\/p>\n<p><strong>8. Hoofletters<br \/><\/strong>Moenie slegs hoofletters hoofletters gebruik nie. Hoofletters impliseer dat jy skree op die ontvanger van die e-pos en kan interpreteer word as onhoflik.<\/p>\n<p><strong>9. Lees voor jy stuur<br \/><\/strong>Moenie oorhaastig `n e-pos stuur nie. Bo en behalwe spelfoute, is dit ook belangrik om seker te maak jy dat jou boodskap duidelik en verstaanbaar is. Onthou dat die ontvanger maklik iets kan misinterpreteer as hy nie van aangesig-tot-aangesig met jou praat nie.<\/p>\n<p><strong>10. Moenie antwoord op gemorspos nie<br \/><\/strong>Selfs al s\u00ea dit dat jy moet antwoord as jy dit nie meer wil ontvang nie. Deur te antwoord, bevestig jy dat jou e-pos aktief is en word nog meer e-pos gegenereer. Vee eerder dadelik die e-pos uit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>11.<\/strong> <strong>Moenie aflewerings- en leesversoeke aanvra nie<br \/><\/strong>Die kans is goed dat jy die ontvanger gaan irriteer daardeur selfs nog voordat hy jou boodskap ontvang het. Vra eerder direk vir die persoon as jy wil weet.<\/p>\n<p><strong>12. Moenie vra dat boodskappe onttrek word nie<br \/><\/strong>Die boodskap is waarskynlik reeds afgelewer en gelees. So `n versoek lyk onprofessioneel en oneerlik. Stuur eerder `n opvolg e-pos om te verduidelik.<\/p>\n<p><strong>13. Moenie ketting e-posse of valse viruswaarskuwings aanstuur nie<br \/><\/strong>Microsoft gaan nie vir jou geld stuur as jy `n e-pos aanstuur vir 20 mense nie &#8211; so ook geen ander maatskappy nie. Die meeste ketting e-posse wat waarsku teen virusse is ook nie geldig nie. Vee dit liewer dadelik uit.<\/p>\n<p><strong>14. Vermy die &#8220;high priority&#8221;-funksie<br \/><\/strong>Indien jy di\u00e9 opsie te veel gebruik, verloor dit sy effektiwiteit. Hierbenewens mag jou e-pos ook ietwat aggressief voorkom. Dieselfde geld vir die gebruik van terme soos &#8220;DRINGEND&#8221; en &#8220;BELANGRIK&#8221;.<br \/><strong><br \/><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">15. Wees versigtig met emotikons en afkortings<br \/><\/span><\/strong><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">Probeer liewer nie om afkortings soos LOL en BTW te gebruik nie. Emotikons soos die :) is ook nie vanpas in besigheid e-posse nie.<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: right;\"><span style=\"text-align: right; line-height: 1.5em;\">BRON:\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">http:\/\/<span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">www.emailreplies.com<\/span><\/span><span style=\"text-align: right; line-height: 1.5em;\">\u00a0en\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em;\">http:\/\/www.businessemailetiquette.com<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.businessemailetiquette.com\/232\/e-mail-response-time\">\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><!--:--><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>If there&#8217;s one area the queen of etiquette Emsie Schoeman hasn&#8217;t commented on, it&#8217;s e-mail. But don&#8217;t think that gives you any reason to escape certain guidelines just because the electronic world seems to operate on a more informal level. Even with e-mail you can land into trouble if you don&#8217;t behave properly. You&#8217;re probably [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":259,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1103,20382,44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-communication","category-email","category-training"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-08 06:49:37","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/259"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5705"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9258,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5705\/revisions\/9258"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sun.ac.za\/it\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}