Do’s and Don'ts For Office Emails emailing Do’s and Don'ts For Office Emails Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Sending Do not use all ‘caps’ – it is equivalent to shouting at the other person Use standard fonts like Times New Roman or Arial. Do not use fancy fonts Keep the font size up to 10 – 12 but not more. Do not type in ‘Italics’. Only selected words to draw the reader’s attention may be in Italics Avoid typing all the letters & words in BOLD. Only specific words may be typed in Bold Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Sending…contd. Type your messages in Black colour only Only certain words meant to draw the attention of the reader may be coloured Only in extreme cases such words may be coloured in Red Formal emails should not have any pictures or animations Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Sending…contd. Message writing – The reader’s name should be written / addressed Use salutations as “Dear Xyz, or just Mr. / Ms Xyz Type the name of the person correctly Spelling the name wrongly is bad manners The message should be crisp and brief Avoid writing long paragraphs Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Sending…contd. Message writing continued… Use bullet points wherever possible to enable quick reading Use numbers for bullet points instead of symbols Use of numbers helps the reader to refer to a specific point while replying Give specific date and time wherever required instead of giving vague timings Use a tone of “Request” rather than “Order / Demand” Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Sending…contd. Message writing continued… Use paragraphs at appropriate places instead of typing all text in one single paragraphs Paragraphs enable readers to understand the contents quickly and easily It also helps the reader to reply with ease\ Use simple English Language Language should be easy to understand and also enable to act on it immediately Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Sending…contd. Message writing continued… Use words which are known to all and used daily Words should not be such that the reader has to refer to a dictionary Bad words and obscene language should never be used Show respect to the reader while drafting emails Do not use “sms” language in emails Write complete words. Avoid shortforms Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Sending…contd. Message writing continued… Each email should end with thanks and regards If a reply is expected; request for a reply courteously without insisting for it If there is an attachment, mention clearly which file has been attached The name of the file attachment should be clearly mentioned in the message Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Attachments Brief description of the attached file should be given in the message When the attachments are more than one, make a list of all in the message Brief description of all the files should be given When the file size is big, zip it Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Attachments…contd. Check before hand with the receiver whether his Inbox can receive big file Do not email unnecessary voluminous data before checking with the receiver When confidential files are attached inform the reader before hand over phone and request him to be present at his desktop Use passwords for all confidential files Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Attachments…contd. Do not type the password in the email message Call up the specific reader and inform the password Use passwords which you can remember Passwords should not be complicated but should not be simple and obvious to decode Build your own system for passwords and method to remember Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Addressing The specific reader’s id should be typed / inserted in the “To” All other readers which are only for information should be under “Cc” Do not put all the ids under “To” unless the email is for joint reading If reply is expected only from one reader then only his id should be under “To” Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Addressing…contd. All other readers should be under “Cc” only Readers put under “Cc” are only for information, to keep them under loop Do not expect replies from the “Cc” list Use of “Bcc” – Blind Carbon Copy “Bcc” is used when the sender does not want to disclose to the recipient, that other people are also receiving a copy of the email Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Addressing…contd. If you are sending an email to multiple people, put their email addresses in the “Bcc” field and your own email address in the “To” field. No one likes to share their private email address with strangers Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Subject Do not ignore or forget to type the “subject’ in the subject line Writing the subject gives the recipient brief and immediate information about the purpose of the email Single words like "Hi" or "Hello" or "Help" are a strict no-no. Think of meaningful but short titles Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Read Notification Receipt Do not request a Read Notification Receipt unless you really need to know that the email was opened. Return Receipts can be thought by the recipient to be somewhat of an insult - implying that you don't trust the fact that they will read it or will respond in a timely fashion Use Return Receipts only when it is “must” and critical Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Replies Reply promptly to all emails specifically addressed to you If you require time to reply send an email asking for time but do acknowledge Use “Reply All” only if your reply is meant for all the “Cc” list also Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Replies…contd. If you are going to quote someone in a reply, only quote the salient points - not the whole thing. If you are going to reply with history, remove any attachments before sending it. If you are replying to an email that contained an attachment, then that means they already have the file - no need to resend it. Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Forward Do a “Forward” only if it is a must and only if the sender has forgot to include a person in the mailing list General emails may be forwarded but it would do well if the sender is asked before forwarding his specific email to others Before forward think whether the entire chain of emails below is really required to be sent Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Forward…contd. Never, forward a "mass mailing" email, especially anything claiming to be for someone dying, some new law that is going to make us all pay, warnings of a virus, make you rich, etc. If you feel like it is your duty to send it, then at least check it out to make sure it is real Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Spell check Do not hit the Send button without doing a spell check An email with spelling mistakes or grammatical errors indicates that you have written the message in a casually and may convey a bad impression Always read the message before publishing it to all Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar General Rules Do not send - Jokes, Non business emails, Pictures, Films, video clips Personal invitations Check out the Corporate Policy on sending personal invites Do not write an email while you are angry or in a really bad mood. It would reflect on the style of your writing Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Saving emails Save specific, important emails in your personal folders All attachments should be saved in your specific excel / word / ppt. folders After saving critical emails outside the mail box delete such emails Save your address book too, its useful if the address file gets corrupted Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar

Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar Thank You Happy emailing Compiled by CA Sanjay Inamdar