Have you ever received an e-mail from a business colleague that offended you, annoyed you or seemed just plain inappropriate? Worse yet, have you sent one? Certainly e-mail has expedited the way we are able to communicate. But, it’s easy to fall into e-mail traps that can diminish your professionalism; even create discord when none was actually meant. E-mail traps fall into four main categories: Lack of professionalism, Lack of clarity, Lack of control and Lack of good writing courtesy.

   Lack of Professionalism.

    Sending a one-word response may come across as abrupt—even rude or detached. Handling multi-subjects in the same e-mail demonstrates a lack of respect for each issue covered. Long, detailed e-mails that give the reader more information than they need or want to know is a time-waster and better left for reports. E-mails sent with the expectation of an immediate response give no respect to the receiver’s workload or timeline.

   Lack of Clarity.

    Misspellings and run-on sentences contribute to a lack of clarity, forcing the reader to figure it out or ignore it. Failure to punctuate and use paragraphs also adds to confusion.

   Lack of Control.

    Once you write it and send it, the message can live forever. You also have no control over who will inevitably see the message which provides a huge opportunity for misinterpretations or adding fuel to the fire of an already tenuous situation.

   Lack of Good Writing Courtesy.

   Subject lines that are ambiguous can mislead; worse yet, get ignored. Emoticons, :) while cute, have little place in business communication. You can easily avoid most e-mail traps if you follow a few commonly accepted e-mail standards.

   Be professional and organized.

    Ask yourself four simple questions before you begin to write:

• Why am I writing? Is it to provide information? Answer a request? Make a request? Be perfectly clear about your reason for sending the e-mail.
• What do I want to say? Being succinct is important, yet being too short—like one word responses—can give the impression that you’re not a team player; not wanting to be helpful and cooperative. Answers that are too long and convoluted can be just as annoying. Succinct, well structured sentences are best.
• What do I want to accomplish? Be clear. If you want to get information back, state exactly what it is you need and give a reasonable time frame. If you merely want to convey thanks to a fellow team member, express it graciously with meaning rather than to just say, “thanks.”
• What action or reaction do you want from your reader? Remember the old adage about speaking—it’s not what you say, it’s how you say it? Well, the same is true when writing.

   Focus on the reader’s needs.

    A single-subject message is easiest for filing, retrieval and forwarding. If more words are needed, be sure the subject line is clear to the reader. In your content, forget about brevity. Brevity is short; not to be confused with concise. Be sure to respond with enough information so your reader can clearly understand your message without making it to abrupt and brief.

   Never forget the permanence of your e-mail.

    A good rule of thumb to keep in mind is….how would you like to see your e-mail published on the front page of U.S.A. Today, your local newspaper or, your company newsletter?

   Separate fact from opinion.

    When you are writing about a topic for which you have strong emotions, type your message, save it for a few minutes, then go back and read it again. If your message generates too much emotion, rewrite it. To be sure you get an objective opinion it might be a good idea to ask a colleague to read your message without coaching them first.

   React slowly and carefully.

    When you receive an e-mail that evokes a negative reaction, re-read it before responding too quickly. It could be that your sender hasn’t learned all the tips that you just learned.