by Lisa Campi

Created on: July 03, 2009

With a simple press of the send button, it is fast and easy to distribute email to hundreds of your fellow co-workers. In fact, email has replaced printed interoffice memos as the primary means of internal business communication. You can use email for many communication purposes - to inform, entertain, question or impress. However, in many cases and with the same email, you can just as easily misdirect, offend and alienate your friends and fellow employees.

Because email is so easy and it is relatively quick to create a message, many employees forget that email is official business communication and use short cuts that are not acceptable in a business setting. Using the helpful do's and don'ts below, you can make sure you know the etiquette of everyday email use in a business setting before you press that send button.

Do not use unknown lingo and acronyms. Some companies have a corporate culture that encourages the use of acronyms or corporate lingo for every day items. However, many people, including the employees, do not understand the meaning of those acronyms or words, so use of them in an email may cause confusion. Make sure that you clearly define any acronyms used in the first part of your email so that others clearly understand your meaning.

Do not use reply to all for every response on every email. In certain cases, reply to all is the appropriate means to respond to information in an email. However, in most cases, your response needs to be targeted to just a few individuals on the distribution list. Use your judgment before you reply to all and determine the actual people who need to read your response. By doing this, you demonstrate sound judgment and communication skills, as you are not filling others' inboxes with emails that they do not need.

Do not blind copy (bcc) indiscriminately. Sometimes, blind copies are an appropriate means to communicate to higher ups, especially if there are human resource issues that are not being addressed. However, in most cases, employees use blind copy to either show up another or to denigrate someone else's work. While you may think you are being secretive, in my experience, everyone seems to know when you blind copied the boss. You will be seen as more professional if you address the situation head on and in a factual, non-emotional manner with the person directly.

Do use spell check and grammar check before you press the send button. Many business emails contain spelling and

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