Email Ettiquete And Other Things....

[MalahatTwo7]

I dont know why the emphasis in this article is towards women in business, because I think its just good common sense for all.

Thu, May 27, 2004 E-mail etiquette.com

By SALLY JOHNSTON, SUN MEDIA

HOW'S your e-mail etiquette? If your business texts are filled with IMO, B4N and other electronic lingo, then you might be sending the wrong message about your company.

"We tend to treat e-mail very casually, but it is a formal style of correspondence. Your business e-mail address is like a letterhead," says Sue Jacques, co-founder of Influence, Etiquette and Protocol Ltd., a Calgary-based consultancy specializing in business etiquette.

E-mail shorthand might be fine for teenage chatrooms but slang such as IMO (in my opinion) and B4N (bye for now) should not be used in business messages if you expect to be taken seriously.

"It's also important to start your e-mail with a salutation like 'Good morning,'"says Jacques.

POSITIVE IMPACT

"You wouldn't walk into a business meeting and start purging your thoughts, so why would you in an e-mail?

"And make sure you close with 'Sincerely' and some information on how people can contact you."

"Women often don't realize that the most subtle change in their behaviour can have a positive impact on their careers," says Jacques.

Jacques' seminars look into a number of business etiquette issues including grooming and dress, handshakes and introductions, office organization, meetings, telephone skills, cross-cultural etiquette, networking, table manners and wine selection and tasting.

"Many women are in careers that require them to do some entertaining and they don't want to have to defer to someone else to pick the wine," says Jacques.

"It's as important to brush up on professionalism as it is to train for your profession," says Jacques.

"People form impressions of us in the first seven seconds, so how you present yourself is important," she adds.

A FEW OTHER TIPS FROM THE ETIQUETTE EXPERTS:

- Have a solid handshake. A limp noodle is a turnoff. Make eye contact, face the other person and connect hands web to web (the web is the area between your thumb and index finger). But don't grip so tight that you crush the other person's bones!

- Prepare for work. Don't fly into the office in a fluster and start chatting to colleagues. Leave your mood and issues at home. Have your paperwork ready and get to it.

- Don't send e-mails when you're angry. They could lose you business or even your job. Don't use capital letters in e-mails; they look like you're shouting.

- Enter a room full of strangers with confidence. Looking scared is unprofessional. If you have been invited, you belong. If you don't see a familiar face, approach another person standing alone, introduce yourself and then ask them about themselves. Remember, 75% of people going to such gatherings are as nervous as you.

- Take steps to secure your personal safety if you're a woman travelling alone. Ask the concierge at your hotel to recommend appropriate restaurants and places to stroll.

[Firefighter631]

Hey 27,

One could just replace woman with explorer/junior/teenager and get the same message across.