Email is becoming an increasingly essential part of our daily work and personal lives. Although many people might be shy to acknowledge it many personal emails are received and sent from work. This mingling of personal and work communication boundaries can lead us to be more informal than otherwise might be the case when writing a letter. People form an idea of what you are like (and what your company is like) by the way you communicate with them. Few people have been taught how to use email, instead they learn slowly through interacting with others picking up bad as well as good habits. When composing emails we often write quickly and keep messages brief, however, we should remember that this does not mean the importance of tone, spelling, grammar and language should be ignored.
This Crazy Colour Quick Reference Card for Effective Email is full of useful tips on all aspects of email from receiving and replying, to composing emails effectively and avoiding misunderstandings. The card also contains a glossary of commonly used terminology, over 20 smilies that you can use to liven up your less formal emails and a list of email acronyms such as CUL (see you later) to help you decipher some of those more confusing messages you may receive. In addition there is a handy checklist to refer to before sending an email.
