Information and Communication Technology EMAIL Information and Communication Technology

Email Email, e-mail, or electronic mail is the transmission of messages (emails or email messages) over electronic networks like the internet.

Email—First Impressions Your email makes a first impression on you! You get up in the morning, take a shower, iron your clothes, groom your hair—all because you care about how you look. Not necessarily because of what others may think but because you want to put your best foot forward. You need to do so, too, when you email. First impressions happen with emails and you can control what they will be. Make the small effort required to reflect knowledge, courtesy and understanding.

Make your First Impression Count “There are four ways, and only four ways, in which we have contact with the world. We are evaluated and classified by these four contacts: what we do, how we look, what we say, and how we say it.” ~Dale Carnegie (1888-1955) American Educator

5 Essential Elements of Every Email The From Field: Your name needs to be displayed properly, John F. Doe. Not john f. doe or john doe, j. doe. Proper capitalization is very important. When you use all lower case, you open the door to being a spammer. The Subject Line: A short, sweet and well thought out Subject is crucial and in some cases help to ensure your email gets opened. Keep your subject to 5-7 words that accurately identify the topic and context of your email.

5 Essential Elements of Every Email (continued) The Greeting: Without a greeting at the beginning of your email you risk being viewed as bossy or terse. Take time to include Hello, Hi or just the recipients name. The Body: Communicate clearly using correct sentence structure and capitalization. Proper grammar and punctuation is also crucial to your message. Typing in all lower case or all caps does not lend to easy communication. All caps is “yelling.” All lower case shows laziness. Do Not use either! Review and spell-check every message before clicking “Send.”

5 Essential Elements of Every Email (continued) The Closing: By not having a closing, you risk the possibility that your email will be perceived as demanding and curt. Use what is consistent with the tone of your message, “Thank you, Sincerely, Look forward to hearing from you, Best wishes, Take care, regards, etc.” And Always include your name!

Attaching Files It is easy to attach a file to an email. (written work, graphics, and photos) Think before you attach: What is the file’s size? If you don’t know find out. Files in megs (million of bytes) will have a hard time going through the pipeline. It could get jammed. Only attach files in a format that you know the other side has the software to view—because you asked first! You want to be sure they can open your file. Compress graphics and photos. Resize them!

Attaching Files (continued) Always check with your recipient the best time of day to send a large file. A little common courtesy in attaching files goes a long way!

5 Rules for Forwarding Email Don’t forward anything without editing out all the forwarding >>>>, other email addresses, headers and commentary from all the other forwarders. Don’t make people look amongst all this gobbly-gook for what you are actually forwarding. If you cannot take time to write a personal note at the top of your forwarded email to the person you are sending it—then you should not forward it at all.

5 Rules for Forwarding Email (continued) Think carefully about if what your are forwarding will be of value or humorous to the person on the other side. Or do you just think it is worthy? If you can’t think of why the person would like to have it, don’t forward it. Don’t forward chain letters. These may contain a virus! If you must forward to more than one person, put the email address in the TO: and all others in the Bcc: to protect their email addresses. This is a privacy issue.

“Send” Email Checklist (Review) Make sure your email includes a courteous greeting and closing. Address your contact with the appropriate level of formality and make sure you spelled their name correctly. Spell check so that you reflect your level of education. Emails with typos are simply not taken seriously. Read your email out loud to ensure the tone is that which you desire. Remember, a few addition such as “please” and “thank you” go a long way.

“Send” Email Checklist (continued) Be sure your are including all relevant details or information necessary to understand your request or point of view so the person receiving can answer. Use proper sentence structure, grammar and punctuation. If your email is emotionally charged, walk away from the computer and wait to reply. If sending attachments, did you ask first. Refrain from forwarding everything. Clean up the forwarded message and be sure to use Bcc for additional contacts. Make one last check that the address or addresses in the TO field are those you wish to send your message/reply to.

Email Samples

Email Samples (continued)

Email Samples (continued)

Email Samples (continued)