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New medium, old manners

HUNDREDS OF millions of e-mail messages traverse the internet every day. Yet in spite of the increasingly central role that e-mail has come to play, many users seem unaware of proper etiquette.­

That's their loss, since adherence to those rules of behaviour often determines the success or failure of online relationships, contract negotiations or job applications.­

"The fundamental rule is this: avoid anything that robs the recipient of his or her precious time," says Martina Dressel, a Dresden-based business coach for online communication. This is a sign of courtesy, but also in the interest of the sender. After all, more e-mail messages are deleted every day than are read. The recipient should be given a quick summary of the contents.­

Missing, vague or inappropriate subject lines lower the chance that a message will be noticed.­ "Mails from strangers that are missing a subject line are immediately categorised as spam and deleted," says Helene Conrady, a Duesseldorf-based author. Messages of that kind are also more difficult to relocate afterward. The ideal subject line points to the content of the game in a concise and precise manner.­

The header, salutation and conclusion for business correspondence are principally the same whether for e-mail messages or ordinary letters, says Larissa Degen, a management coach from Munich. That means always addressing the recipient personally and by name, and avoiding abbreviations.­

A signature at the end of the mail is very helpful for identifying the sender and to help grease the skins for responses, including by telephone. The signature should include all important data like address, fax and telephone numbers, yet not be longer than six lines.­

Smilies and colourful emoticons may be wonderful for e-mail messages with friends, but it's completely off target at the workplace. E-mail messages with poor spelling or grammar make an even poorer impression with the recipient. They are often perceived as impolite, slovenly or disrespectful. The same applies for ignoring proper capitalisation rules. Messages written only in small letters are more difficult to read, while writing only in capital letters comes across as shouting.­