What is Netiquette?

1. What is Netiquette? • We expect other drivers to observe the rules of the road. • The same is true as we travel through cyberspace. • Netiquette - network etiquette or Internet etiquette

2. Why is Email Etiquette Important? • We interact more and more with the written word all the time • Without immediate feedback from the reader, it’s easy to be misunderstood • Email is still a formal correspondence

3. The Basics • Think twice about whether or not the content of your email is appropriate for virtual correspondence - once you hit Send, anyone might be able to read it • Respond to emails within the same time span you would a phone call • Use a professional font, not decorative • Be cautious about sending personal information

4. Subject • Should be meaningful • Should give your reader an idea of the content of the email • Should be appropriate, because anyone can look at the subject, even if the recipient chooses not to open the message • For example: Confidential: Sale numbers for October • When changing the subject, start a new message

5. Responding • Respond in the same time frame you would respond with a phone call • Be conscious of responding to the sender or Reply to all • Do not overuse Reply to all • Be conscious of your recipient • Don’t expect an immediate response

6. Tone • Write in a positive tone • When I complete the assignment versus If I complete the assignment • Avoid using negative words • Words that begin with “un, non, or ex” or end with “less” • Use smiles , winks ;-) and other graphical symbols only when appropriate • Use contractions to add a friendly tone • Use please and thank you

7. Content • Check your grammar and spelling • Use proper structure and layout • Be efficient • Emails that get to the point are much more effective • Address all the questions or concerns to avoid delays • Read the email before you send it • Plz Don’t Abbrvt. • Try to keep the email brief (one screen length)

8. Content Don’ts • Use sarcasm or rude jokes • Respond if you are upset. Take some time to cool off and consider appropriate response. • Attach unnecessary files • Use CAPITALS • Leave out the message thread • Use long sentences • Leave irrelevant information

9. Attachments • When you are sending attachments, include in the email the filename, and what it contains • Attached: “Project3Proposal.doc” with my proposal. • Consider sending files in rich text format (rtf) or portable document format (pdf) to ensure compatibility • Attachments often carry viruses

10. Signature • Identify yourself • Keep it short • Ensure a quote or tagline is appropriate for everyone to see

11. Email writing as a rhetorical act Email requires consideration of the same rhetorical elements as you use in letter writing and phone calling: • Subject • Audience • Purpose • Persona

12. Write to think Take three or four minutes to brainstorm the following ideas: • What are some of the typical subjects you address in your business writing? • Who are some of the audiences to which you write on the job? • What are some of the purposes you have for your written communication? • What are some of the voices or personas you have to use while writing in your office?

13. Consider your purpose • Business writing is persuasive writing. • Some business writing will try to persuade the reader to take an action or think about something a certain way.

14. Consider your audience • You may… • Know your audience personally • Not know your audience personally • Need to write to more than one person at a time

15. Consider your audience • Put yourself in your reader’s place • If your message does not meet your reader’s needs or if it isn’t written at his or her level of understanding, your message may be ignored.

16. When you know your reader • How interested or involved in the subject is my reader? • How knowledgeable is he or she about the subject? • What is my reader’s purpose for reading? To make a decision? To be better informed?

17. When you know your reader • Does my reader have special concerns or strong views about the subject? What are they? • How does my reader regard me personally and professionally? • What is my reader’s style of doing business?

18. There are two general types of business readers: skimmers and skeptics. Your documents will be most effective if you write for both types of readers. When you do not know your reader

19. Skimmers are readers that are typically very busy. Pressed for time, they often skim documents in a rather short period of time. A Skeptic is a reader that is cautious and doubtful. Skeptical readers will tend to read a document carefully, questioning its validity and the writer’s claims. When you do not know your reader

20. 20-second test for Skimmers: • Skim your document for 20 seconds, and mark what stands out most to you in that amount of time. • After you are finished, see if what you have marked is able to convey your message clearly. • If it is possible (or an important document), have someone else skim your document before sending it, and see if your message is clear to them as well.

21. Skeptical readers • Skeptical reader - support your statements with sufficient details and evidence • Provide specific examples, numbers, dates, names, and percentages