Don’t Kid Yourself: E-mail Etiquette = Courtesy

Recently, I’ve seen a trend of folks striking out against all this talk about e-mail etiquette. From one liner e-mails with no greetings “…e-mail after all is only extended IM.” Or, even comments about “…why take the time to type all this ancillary nicey stuff? Just type what you mean and that should be good enough!”

Well, it isn’t enough — period! As a human being each of us is obligated to be courteous and thoughtful when communicating with each other — that’s what makes us human! To think the basics of a “Hello” or “thanks for your help” don’t matter is an incorrect assumption — it does matter. Or that taking the time to spell check and proof read your e-mails to ensure your message is concise with the intended tone is not necessary only leads to unnecessary misunderstandings and disputes.

There are some that believe by not making these efforts or taking the minuscule amount of time they require to integrate is allot to do about nothing. Well, they will find out when they don’t get that job, they don’t land the customer, they don’t gain new contacts or online friends or are not taken seriously.

E-mail Etiquette, as does any other form of etiquette, exists as a way to reflect courtesy for others. The day you feel that courtesy is no longer worth your effort or a necessary consideration and that only what you want to do or are willing to do is sufficient, is the day that you leave part of your humanity behind.

There is nothing wrong nor is it a waste of time to to use technology properly and to ensure that your actions are perceived positively by the other side. To reflect courtesy for those you communicate with, to me (and to those you communicate with), is time well spent.

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