During the average workday, you probably read and respond to a lot of emails. And you probably make an effort to craft well-written messages. But we all make mistakes occasionally. According to author Caroline Bologna, certain mistakes are fairly common. And unfortunately, those mistakes can sometimes cause the writer to lose credibility and respect.
So what are those common mistakes? Here is a list of the things that you should NOT do when writing a work email:
- Write badly – If you occasionally make a grammar or spelling mistake in an email, that’s not a big deal. But if your emails are always full of mistakes, your coworkers might start to view you as incompetent or careless. Take the time to read over your emails before you send them.
- Write too much – When you’re writing a work email, don’t include big paragraphs of unnecessary information. You’ll just be making extra work for your coworkers, and possibly causing confusion. Try to provide your colleagues with the information they need clearly and succinctly.
- Reply to all – If you only need to send a message to one person, you should do that. Don’t hit “reply all” and send it to everyone. You’ll just clog up your coworkers’ inboxes with a lot of unnecessary emails.
- Gossip – Don’t gossip and say mean things about your coworkers in work emails. You never know who might end up seeing it. And also, it’s not nice.
- Express anger – No matter how mad you might be about something, NEVER send an angry email. If you feel upset, walk away from your computer and try to calm down. Give it some time. If you’re still upset after a cooling off period, think about what your next steps should be. Maybe you need to schedule a meeting with your boss to discuss the issue? But whatever you do, don’t send that angry email. It’s always a mistake.
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Bologna, C. (2021, January 25). The rudest things you can do when emailing. Huffpost. Retrieved from: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/rudest-things-you-can-do-emailing_l_60084e2bc5b62c0057c226d8
