Don't Be Viewed as Rude!

by Judith Kallos

Published on this site: July 15th, 2005 - See more articles from this month...

All too often otherwise nice folks come off as terse or plain old rude when it comes to their e-mail habits. They don't intentionally set out to be viewed as rude, well I guess some do, but for the most part I prefer to believe the majority do not.

Are you being viewed as rude? Do your e-mail habits smack of a lack of consideration for the person on other side? Below are the most common faux pas I see onliners make on a regular basis that end up leaving a negative perception. If you answer "Yes" to any of the following questions you are most likely being viewed as rude.

• Do you forward e-mails without comment?
  
  If you cannot take the time to write a comment about why you are forwarding that particular e-mail to that particular person don't bother forwarding at all or you'll be viewed as rude!
  
  
• Do you send overly large unexpected attachments?
  
  If you cannot take the time to determine file size and ask first when would be the best time to send them, you're being viewed as rude!
  
  
• Do you send business attachments after business hours?
  
  If you do, you will definitely be viewed as rude when you cause your associate's inbox to fill and all subsequent e-mail to bounce!
  
  
• Do you start every e-mail with a "Hi" or "Hello" with the recipient's name and close with a "Sincerely," "Take Care," or "TTYS," and your name?
  
  If you cannot take the time to personally address an e-mail and sign off with courtesy, which will cause you to be perceived as demanding or curt, you'll be viewed as rude!
  
  
• Do you e-mail Web sites for information without searching to see if the information you're seeking has already been provided for your convenience?
  
  If you cannot take a few moments to search a site and read the information provided, you'll be viewed as rude!
  
  
• Do you use multiple !!! or ??? in your e-mails?
  
  If you do, you will come off as pushy and/or condescending and you'll be viewed as rude!
  
  
• Do you include everyone's e-mail address in the To: field even if they don't know each other?
  
  If you do, that is a serious breach of privacy when you expose your contact's e-mail addresses to strangers and, you will be viewed as rude!
  
  
• Do you add the e-mail address of new contacts, newsletters you've subscribed to or Web sites you receive e-mail from to your approved or white list?
  
  If not, your spam blocking or your ISP's filtering program may return e-mails or ask for confirmation. If you initiated the request, courtesy dictates that you add their e-mail address to your approved list to make communicating with you easy or, you'll be viewed as rude!

Avoid being viewed as rude by taking the time to show courtesy to the people you are communicating with. All too often folks think only of themselves and what they want to do at any given moment regardless of how it will be perceived or affect the person on the other side. Good manners never go out of style and that applies to e-mail activities as well.

"To be always thinking about your manners is not the way to make them good; the very perfection of manners is not to think about yourself" -Richard Whately

Judith Kallos is an authoritative and good-humored Technology Muse
who has played @ http://www.TheIStudio.com for over a decade. Check out her popular E-mail Etiquette Web Site and Book @
http://www.NetManners.com