How to stop useless emails

Hear hear! It’s easy to abuse electronic mail. For one thing, most people think of it as just a scribbled note. When it comes to being in cyberspace, people often mistakenly feel that, because they can’t be seen, it’s okay to say or do anything online. Wrong, wrong, wrong.

I suggest you call a meeting of managers and produce an office policy for email. Point out that it’s a valuable business tool, not a toy and not a resource to be wasted. Here are some things to consider:

Presenting yourself well is just as important online as it is in person. In fact, one rule of electronic etiquette is that if you wouldn’t say something to a person face-to-face, don’t say it in cyberspace. If you have to ask yourself whether something will be interpreted correctly, don’t say it.

Official emails should look good. That means using proper grammar and checking your spelling and punctuation. Don’t write in all capitals – that’s the cyber-equivalent of shouting. Your notes should have some physical order, not just a huge chunk of text that’s almost impossible to read. And, of course, swearing and cursing might not go down well and could make you look bad. Overloading the message with too much slang might cloud your meaning, especially as you can’t always decipher the tone of voice in email.

Just as we resent it when others waste our time in the real world, it’s an abuse and an insult to waste anyone’s time online.