Email is one of the fastest, most convenient and cheapest means of communication in the world — but that doesn’t mean that it’s the easiest to get right. In fact, it can be quite difficult to achieve  appropriate tone (polite or intimate) and style (formal or informal) in an email. This difficulty is caused by the fact that emails have some of the features of written language and some of the features of the spoken form.

In speech, we use voice inflection and also gestures and eye contact to communicate what we are feeling. We cannot, of course, use these features in emails. So, instead, some emailers use special symbols to communicate their feelings. These symbols are called “emoticons” e.g. = happy and ^0^ = worried.

Another way of putting emotions into emails is to put special words in brackets followed by an exclamation mark:
Sorry my essay is late (groan!) but I’ve had a lot to do lately (phew!)— I’ll be able to hand it in on Friday (finally!).

Yet another way of expressing emotions in emails is to capitalize every letter in words which the writer wants to emphasize:

Sorry my essay is late but I’ve had A LOT to do lately — I’ll be able to hand it in on Friday!

The problem with this form of expression is that it gives the impression that the writer is shouting at the reader!

Emoticons, expressions in brackets and capitalized words may be acceptable when emailing friends but are far too informal and intimate for communicating with a teacher or employer. Another feature to avoid in formal emails is excessive use of abbreviations. Look at this email and try to guess (as I did) the meanings of the abbreviations. The email is a response to my request for information on how people use email.

Dear Chris:

You’ve certainly made me think about how I write email! FYI, I try to be as brief as possible and don’t spend so much time in checking the grammar and spelling — as you can probably see!

Maybe some people still think you should write email like normal letters. But for me it’s more like writing a postcard or a personal note — or like talking to someone. IMO, it’s OK as long as the receiver can understand the message.

I hope this info helps you. Hope the project is successful and thanks for the information on how to use email effectively. Of course, I don’t agree with all the points you mentioned!

BTW, are you coming to the staff lunch next Friday?

Cheers

Tina

At 19:53 14/01/02, you wrote:

Dear Tina:

I’m working on a project on how the use of email affects the way English is used by my Chinese colleagues — so I’ve contacted quite a lot of people who use email a lot to get their views.

Do you write differently in emails compared with letters? And if you do, what kinds of differences are there?

I have to finish the project soon, so please reply as quickly as you can.

Apologies for the rush.

Thanks a lot

Chris

PS I’ve attached the file on email etiquette you requested.

The abbreviations stand for for your information, in my opinion, and by the way. Some recipients will know these abbreviations but others will spend a long time trying to guess their meanings!

The following file was attached to the email I sent to Tina requesting her help. The file gives some advice on how to write effective emails.

Attachment converted: C: dialup\attach\emailhints.doc

The first point I want to make is very basic: much communication between humans is approximately 55% body language, 38% tone of voice, and 7% what you say. The problem with email is that you remove the first 93%. You need to be aware of this basic fact when you write emails. So, be explicit with your meanings, since subtleties will be lost or completely misunderstood. Remember this, too, when reading others’ emails: poor language skills or haste in composing the message may give the mail an abrupt quality or negative tone. The best thing to do if you receive this kind of mail is to re-read it and see if you are simply misinterpreting the words. Misunderstanding messages is often the cause of conflict.

Treat email confidentially. If somebody sends you information or ideas by email, you should not take it as a licence to post that information in a public forum (discussion group, chat site, etc). Personal emails must be treated privately, so that you maintain the trust of those you communicate with.

If you email a lot of people, be careful not to paste all the names into the “CC” (carbon copy) field of your email. If you do that, all the people you are writing to will be able to see the email addresses of all the other people. This can be very annoying, as people may not wish to disclose their email address, particularly if they do not know all the other recipients. Always use the “BCC” (blind carbon copy) field instead. That way, each person will only see his or her own email address on your message.

When emailing someone you don’t know for the first time, don’t be informal. For example, if you’re responding to someone’s website or a widely circulated business email, avoid beginning your response with “Hi Chris.” Use the more formal “Dear Mr/Ms/Dr/Prof Green.” Also, avoid ending the mail with “Cheers” or “Bye-bye.” Use “Sincerely” instead.

Here’s a warning about HTML mail: If you are sending an important message to somebody, don’t use HTML code in your message unless you are sure that his or her email program can display HTML correctly. If it doesn’t, your message will become an unreadable mess!

Email is fast and to make it even faster, many users have stopped paying attention to correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. This is not acceptable. An email is a permanent written record and the impression it makes on its recipient is important. If the recipient doesn’t know you personally, he/she may well judge you negatively on the evidence of a poorly presented mail.

Another cause of much confusion is the email dealing with a number of subjects. In fact, an effective email — just like a conventional memo — deals with a single subject only. All of us complain about not receiving prompt answers to the emails we send, but often the delays are caused by the recipient struggling to understand poorly organized mails with multiple subjects. Receivers respond faster to well-organized

mails.

Of course, the immediacy of email and the expectation of senders of a fast response can be dangerous. This is particularly true if you feel angry and upset about something. Many people are quick to write emails in haste. This is acceptable when you have something quick to say such as “Thanks for your message,” but when you are upset or furious, the ease of pressing the “send” button can get you in a lot of trouble. If you are upset and you are composing an email, you can write it as hastily as you wish. Writing at great speed but with little consideration always helps a person to calm down! But don’t click the “send” button when you have finished. Instead, let the email sit there for an hour or so while you cool off. When you return, review the email and make the changes you feel are appropriate, now that you are calmer.