Email Etiquette: How to Sound More Professional and Confident in Your Work Emails

Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsImportance of Email EtiquetteEmail Etiquette TipsBest Practices for Email CommunicationEmail Etiquette in the Workplace

Table of ContentsView All

View All

Table of Contents

Importance of Email Etiquette

Email Etiquette Tips

Best Practices for Email Communication

Email Etiquette in the Workplace

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Love it or hate it, email has become a go-to method of communication for most workplaces.More than 200 billion emails are sent every day, worldwide.Most of us have more work-related conversations over email than we do in person.

“With email being so ubiquitous in the corporate world, how we use it definitely matters,” saysKrystin Morgan, a career coach and hiring expert.

That’s where email etiquette, a subset ofnetiquette, comes in. “Email etiquette is just like everyday etiquette—it’s a way of being polite and respectful in our interactions with others over email,” says Morgan.

If you want to elevate your email game, we’ve got you. In this article we share some tips and strategies for better email etiquette and more effective workplace communication.

At a GlanceNailing your email etiquette can help you sound professional, confident, and credible. Plus, it can help you communicate effectively and prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings.Concise subject lines, appropriate greetings, a professional tone, proper formatting, and a final proofread can go a long way toward making your email look and sound a lot more legit.It’s time to level up!

At a Glance

Nailing your email etiquette can help you sound professional, confident, and credible. Plus, it can help you communicate effectively and prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings.Concise subject lines, appropriate greetings, a professional tone, proper formatting, and a final proofread can go a long way toward making your email look and sound a lot more legit.It’s time to level up!

Nailing your email etiquette can help you sound professional, confident, and credible. Plus, it can help you communicate effectively and prevent any unnecessary misunderstandings.

Concise subject lines, appropriate greetings, a professional tone, proper formatting, and a final proofread can go a long way toward making your email look and sound a lot more legit.

It’s time to level up!

MirageC / Moment / Getty Images

Good email etiquette is important for several reasons:

Using good email etiquette can avoid confusion and frustration due to your communication.—KRYSTIN MORGAN, CAREER COACH

Using good email etiquette can avoid confusion and frustration due to your communication.

—KRYSTIN MORGAN, CAREER COACH

These are some email etiquette tips to help you sound more professional and confident in your correspondence:

Poor email etiquette can result in your being labeled “difficult” or “unpleasant” to work with, which does you no favors in the working world.—KRYSTIN MORGAN, CAREER COACH

Poor email etiquette can result in your being labeled “difficult” or “unpleasant” to work with, which does you no favors in the working world.

We asked the expert to share some best practices for email communication:

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These are some email etiquette rules to follow in the workplace:

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Takeaways

In today’s digital age, mastering email etiquette is no longer optional, it’s essential. Remember, your emails are a reflection of you and your brand. So the next time you hit send, make sure the email is on point with your personal brand.

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4 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Pew Research Center.Email and the internet are the dominant technological tools in American workplaces.De Gagne JC, Yang Y, Rushton S, Koppel PD, Hall K.Email use reconsidered in health professions education.JMIR Med Educ. 2020 Jun 1;6(1):e19300. doi:10.2196/19300Summerfield MR, Feemster AA.Composing effective and efficient emails: A primer for pharmacy practitioners.Hosp Pharm. 2015 Sep;50(8):683-9. doi:10.1310/hpj5008-683Kim DH, Yoon HB, Yoo DM, Lee SM, Jung HY, Kim SJ, Shin JS, Lee S, Yim JJ.Etiquette for medical students' email communication with faculty members: A single-institution study.BMC Med Educ. 2016 Apr 27;16:129. doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0628-y

4 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Pew Research Center.Email and the internet are the dominant technological tools in American workplaces.De Gagne JC, Yang Y, Rushton S, Koppel PD, Hall K.Email use reconsidered in health professions education.JMIR Med Educ. 2020 Jun 1;6(1):e19300. doi:10.2196/19300Summerfield MR, Feemster AA.Composing effective and efficient emails: A primer for pharmacy practitioners.Hosp Pharm. 2015 Sep;50(8):683-9. doi:10.1310/hpj5008-683Kim DH, Yoon HB, Yoo DM, Lee SM, Jung HY, Kim SJ, Shin JS, Lee S, Yim JJ.Etiquette for medical students' email communication with faculty members: A single-institution study.BMC Med Educ. 2016 Apr 27;16:129. doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0628-y

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

Pew Research Center.Email and the internet are the dominant technological tools in American workplaces.De Gagne JC, Yang Y, Rushton S, Koppel PD, Hall K.Email use reconsidered in health professions education.JMIR Med Educ. 2020 Jun 1;6(1):e19300. doi:10.2196/19300Summerfield MR, Feemster AA.Composing effective and efficient emails: A primer for pharmacy practitioners.Hosp Pharm. 2015 Sep;50(8):683-9. doi:10.1310/hpj5008-683Kim DH, Yoon HB, Yoo DM, Lee SM, Jung HY, Kim SJ, Shin JS, Lee S, Yim JJ.Etiquette for medical students' email communication with faculty members: A single-institution study.BMC Med Educ. 2016 Apr 27;16:129. doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0628-y

Pew Research Center.Email and the internet are the dominant technological tools in American workplaces.

De Gagne JC, Yang Y, Rushton S, Koppel PD, Hall K.Email use reconsidered in health professions education.JMIR Med Educ. 2020 Jun 1;6(1):e19300. doi:10.2196/19300

Summerfield MR, Feemster AA.Composing effective and efficient emails: A primer for pharmacy practitioners.Hosp Pharm. 2015 Sep;50(8):683-9. doi:10.1310/hpj5008-683

Kim DH, Yoon HB, Yoo DM, Lee SM, Jung HY, Kim SJ, Shin JS, Lee S, Yim JJ.Etiquette for medical students' email communication with faculty members: A single-institution study.BMC Med Educ. 2016 Apr 27;16:129. doi:10.1186/s12909-016-0628-y

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