November 18th, 2009 
Maria Helm 
Electronic mail. Who doesn’t love it? It’s quick, efficient and –let’s be honest — allows us to be somewhat removed from the person on the other end. But that doesn’t mean you throw professional courtesy and etiquette out the window when using e-mail to communicate with those around you. In fact, you should pay close attention to your e-mail habits and determine that you are sending the right message with each click of the mouse. Read on for a few tips on how to keep your e-mail goofs to a minimum:
- Make sure your subject line is relevant and meaningful to the body of the e-mail.
- Don’t shout! Remember that using ALL CAPS is shouting your message. Be respectful and use regular sentence case.
- Limit your use of the “urgent” tag. You don’t want to be known as the person whose e-mail is always an emergency.
- Avoid texting lingo and emoticons. Spell out words and don’t rely on abbreviations.
- Avoid long sentences and paragraphs. Try not to exceed 20 words per sentence.
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Everyone likes to hear the words “thank you” once in a while. But in our fast-paced, super-connected world, handwritten notes of thanks are in danger of becoming a thing of the past. So don’t let your busy lifestyle get in the way of good manners. Thank-you notes don’t have to be a burden. They can be fun. Thank-you notes are an age-old way of keeping communication amongst business colleagues, customers, friends and family open. Here are some tips on how to say thanks quickly and creatively:
If you are to make a list of the country’s most influential people, who would you include? For sure, President Obama would make that list. So would Warren Buffett and perhaps Steve Jobs. You could argue that Sarah Palin to be on it depending on whether you’re a fan or not. Now there’s one name that you may or may not have considered: Oprah Winfrey.
