A colleague recently told me that my e-mails are too long. What is the rule of thumb regarding e-mail length? (Mine are sometimes 4-5 fairly long paragraphs.)
As far as the general rules of e-mail, I realize you’re not supposed to use capital letters (which indicates screaming), and that the proper response to a large volume business e-mail should be targeted to the person you really need to answer to, not the entire group.
I also know that what is said in e-mails can sometimes be taken wrong, and that bad or negative information should be shared in person.
What other general guidelines are there, besides length issues?
Are these personal emails or are they emails written in a business or professional context?
I don’t write much email at work, and the ones I do write are usually pretty short, so most of what I write here will pertain to personal emails, most of which I receive from visitors to my web site.
Descriptive subject lines are a must, since of course this is what the recipient’s first impression of the email will be. I hate getting emails from people whose names I don’t recognize that just say “Hello” or “(no subject)” or “your website”. I never know if it’s even going to be a legit email or a spam disguised as being a personal email by using a vague subject line.
As for length, if it is someone new to me I keep the emails pretty short (3-5 paragraphs at the very most). Once I get to know the person (if I do) and a good rapport is established I may write longer emails, depending on how much we have in common and how frequently emails are exchanged.
To avoid the recipient’s misinterpretation of something smilies, or emoticons, can help clarify things. Use them sparingly, though. Emails in which every sentence ends with a can be annoying.
And please, for the love of God, don’t abandon the rules of grammar, spelling and punctuation, even if it’s a personal exchange. There is no reason email deserves any less adherence to proper writing. ppl who rite there emailz like this shoud be shot @ 1nce lol Also don’t use too many acronyms if you can avoid it (BRB, IIRC, FWIW, etc.)
The link above has some good general rules, but I (mildly) disagree with the issue of acronyms. I’d modify it to, “Use unfamiliar acronyms sparingly.” I use BTW and FYI all the time, as well as acronyms that are essential and common in my particular field (radar design).
Another caution: Do not send an e-mail if there’s a person or group that would react angrily if they ever read it. (Like all those Zoroastrians who never pick up a check). In my experience, there’s a good chance it’ll get forwarded to them and you’ll have a sticky situation to deal with. Better to proofread your e-mail with the assumption that whoever you don’t want to read it will eventually read it, and modify it so that it’s more diplomatic and defensible.
Keeping the length to less than a computer screen’s worth of text is also a good rule of thumb.
What I consider good and thoughtful in e-mails that
I receive from others:
descriptive subject lines
Plain text, no fancy formatting. No HTML mail.
lines no longer than 72 characters
no attachments in proprietary formats (e.g. MS Word)
a minimum of care for spelling and grammar. (shows respect)
some things from writing good letters that also apply to e-mails:
write precisely and to the point
use exclamation marks very sparingly.
Use of multiple exclamation marks means admitting to being mentally ill.
When writing to a person who does not know you, if not possessed of an unambigous first name, indicate your gender. I find it very awkward to have to address someone as “Dear Mr or Mrs. XY” in a business letter.
Pitfalls that I try to avoid myself:
references to “here” and “today”
typical word-processing errors that result from cutting, pasting and reformulation parts of a sentence with the result that the whole sentence doesn’t parse right anymore.
what groo said: don’t include anything that someone must not see whom the recipient might thoughtlessly forward your e-mail to. I have encountered myself several instances where I have got an e-mail that resulted from a chain of uses of the “forward” function and adding comments; the original e-mail being an internal one within the customer’s company that was definitely not meant for my eyes…
can be annoying.