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When I grew up ballroom dancing was considered a social grace worth teaching. Some of my mates’ mums were pretty classy on the dance floor, so the local youth club asked them to run some dancing lessons. Along with that elegant skill they also decided we needed a few rough edges knocked off, so a few lessons on dance floor etiquette and good manners were thrown in.

The dance may have changed, the platform might be under our fingers instead of our feet, but etiquette is also relevant in the world of cyberspace, and nowhere more so than email.

Let’s take a small look at the world of manners, courtesy and thoughtfulness – cyber-style.

When You’re Angry:

You’ve just read something that lifts your blood pressure just about to boiling point? Fingers poised, you’re about to sort them out.

‘I’ll tell that so-and-so just what I think of them and their stupid idea!’ you fume.

Don’t.

As long as your system isn’t programmed to empty your Trash Can at the end of each day, hit Delete and sleep on it for a night. Don’t answer until the next day. It will still be waiting there for you tomorrow, and it’s highly unlikely you’ll forget something that made you so mad!

Benefits:

It’s out of your face and not nagging every time you go to handle your other mail
By the next day you’ve calmed down
Overnight your sub-conscious has come up with the right way to handle the matter.

When The Mail Is Going to More Than One Person:

If you’re sending mail to more than one person, use ‘bcc’ (blind carbon copy) instead of ‘cc’ (carbon copy). If the ‘bcc’ option doesn’t show when you start a New Message, click on either the little ‘To’ or ‘Cc’ buttons. Your address book will open up, and the bcc option will show.

Probably most of us have misused this facility at least once in our lives. When I first started sending my ‘Top Time Tips’ out, I had around 600 people with emails in my database. I did know about the bcc feature, but the second time I mailed out, by mistake I hit the cc button. Oh dear – talk about a red face! The worst offence was the very busy corporate client who couldn’t quickly get the rest of his mail, whilst working off a slow and expensive overseas hotel modem. He rather firmly requested removal from my mailout list!

Group Discussion Required:

If mail has been broadcasted to a group, and you want to include the others in your reply, use ‘Reply All’ instead of ‘Reply’. This is very useful when a group needs to discuss something – everyone gets the whole story and it can save a lot of time. However, be very judicious about this – folk have been known to deeply embarrass themselves.

Check Your Grammar and Spelling:

Email is fast, dynamic, and more relaxed. It’s the junk food tool of communication – convenient and quickly delivered! However, let’s not get too junky! Many of us cringe when we receive a badly spelt and ungrammatical note from someone who would normally never dream of sending out scruffy work.

Although email is a much more casual medium than regular letters, it is still relevant to use good grammar, and to quickly proof your work before you hit that Send button.