5 of 13

Write now Article Tools

Email can be considered official correspondence to parties within and outside of your organization. Many organizations are what could be considered virtual. Within these virtual organizations, politics can happen just as easily as face to face. Email in many companies has replaced the "water cooler."

Here are a few tips that will help prevent email issues:

1. Never write an email while angry. This is good advice since most of us would never say the same things calm as when we are angry. Angry emails just sound bad and they will not win anyone any style points.

2. Write precisely what you mean. If you are involved in defusing nuclear weapons, getting the emails with the exact steps is important. It is the same whether you are explaining marketing strategy or how to log into a website. Do not get caught up in extraneous words and phrases with double meaning. Say what you mean.

3. Do not send jokes, porn or any thing that could be considered inappropriate on company email systems they are subject to monitoring. It has been proved that an employee does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy when using company computer assets.

4. Lastly, do not do anything that you do not want saved forever. Many organizations back up their email servers and this documentation is used for a variety of things. Company histories, archived data, and legal actions. Your joke may turn into a lawsuit some day.

Email is a powerful tool, but like all tools it should be used by wise skilled hands.

Learn more about this author, Kevin Hartford.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Office tips: What you should never say in an email?
We want to hear your view. Write now!