E-mail manners matter

<p>How many e-mails did you send out today? You probably lost count at some point just after lunch. The odds are that you sent over a dozen of these messages out to family members, friends, clients and co-workers. Here&rsquo;s the big question: Were any of those e-mail messages rude? Were any overly brief? Would any one of the messages you sent today make their recipients ponder whether they had done something to offend you? Yes, there is such a thing as e-mail etiquette. Here&rsquo;s a quick primer regarding how to mind your manners while sending e-mail.</p> <p><strong>Sometimes it is possible to too brief</strong></p> <p>When a person receives an e-mail message that merely says &ldquo;yes&rdquo; or, even worse, "no," they might wonder if you&rsquo;re a lttle bit ticked at them. After all, that is a very short response. When sending e-mail messages, be sure to add a little more meat to make your recipients feel good. Instead of just answering &ldquo;yes,&rdquo; perhaps you should add a, &ldquo;Thanks for asking&rdquo; or a &ldquo;Hope you&rsquo;re doing well today.&rdquo; That can make a big difference. If your message is brief due to the fact you&rsquo;re typing it on a smartphone or tablet, make a special e-mail signature that conveys to recipients that this is the reason for your short message.</p> <p><strong>Always answer</strong></p> <p>CBS News reminds you to always answer back when you receive an e-mail message. Our inboxes are often bombarded with e-mails. It can feel like a challenge to respond to all of them. But disregarding an e-mail message is rude, CBS News says, and can turn people off. CBS News states that sometimes a simple response of "Thanks" is all that senders need to feel positive that you've received and are considering their message.</p> <p><strong>Take your time</strong></p> <p>Even the most watchful of typists make mistakes when they write e-mail messages too fast. No recipient wants to get an e-mail message filled with misspellings, incorrect words and typos. Slow down when composing your message. It&rsquo;s an indication of politeness to take the time to create a clear, concise message.</p> <p><strong>No shouting, please</strong></p> <p>PR firm Ragan advocates you keep in mind your basic offline manners when composing e-mail messages. This means including those magic words inside your messages, "please" and "thank you." All too often, in the rush of composing and sending e-mails, we forget these niceties. Ragan also warns against shouting in your e-mail messages. For those who don't know, "shouting" means typing in all capital letters. This looks incredibly annoying on the computer screen.</p>