Electronic Communication Rules

My beautiful bride attended a workshop on email/iPhone/Blackberry etiquette and was nice enough to share these with me...so I am sharing them with you!

RULES OF ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION
1) Always use the subject line as a blank one invites an instant delete or shows lack of urgency to read/respond

2) Start a new thread/email for each subject you need to address

3) Email tone will end up being dictated by the mood of the person you are sending to and your relationship. If they are a high-strung, tense person, they will read their emails as such. If they are low-key, they will respond accordingly… not because you stated something more fervently or used exclamation points/emoticons

4) Misspellings/poor grammar are a direct reflection on you

5) Always use a professional signature line – you are a professional 8 to 5, so personal emails should be sent from a personal email account

6) Fill in the email address last so as not to send your email by mistake

7) Do not use email as a conflict resolution tool and is rarely effective as such; respect others to do this face-to-face

8) Keep emails neutral to positive; if you have a negative emotion, wait before responding or do in person

9) Keep sentences under 25 words and emails to under 3 paragraphs. If you need to say more, pick up the phone or send attachments. This is becoming more important as people are reading their emails on small mobile phones.