12 Tips on Email Etiquette

See also: Good Email Etiquette

In the digital age, where instant communication rules our lives and it’s almost impossible to escape the reach and allure of the internet, it’s easy to find yourself getting an email, clicking ‘reply’, typing a quick response, and hitting ‘send’ without much thought.

Unfortunately doing exactly that has the potential to lead to embarrassing mistakes that could be detrimental to your professional relationships and career.

What makes things worse is that the average office worker spends up to 28% of their week replying to and sending emails. With the amount of time the average person spends emailing, it’s hard to grasp why a huge portion of professionals don’t know the basics of email etiquette. Mastering these skills not only prevents embarrassment but streamlines communication, saving you and your colleagues valuable time.

A Clear Subject Line

One of the most important parts of an email—if not the most important part—is the subject line. When reaching out to new contacts or clients, the subject line effectively determines whether a person will or will not open an email. In an inbox cluttered with hundreds of unread messages, a vague subject line like "Question" or "Hello" is likely to be ignored or prioritized last.

You want your email to stand out. When dealing with colleagues, signal to the reader exactly what the email contains. A good subject line acts as a summary. Instead of "Meeting," try "Agenda items for Tuesday's Marketing Meeting." This allows the recipient to prioritize their workload and file the email correctly for future reference. If the email is urgent, stating "Urgent:" or "Action Required:" in the subject line is acceptable, provided it is actually urgent.
Careful Which ‘Reply’ You Use

The "Reply All" button is a dangerous tool that is often misused. Before you click it, pause and think: does everyone on this list really need to read my response? If an email was sent to a team of 20 people asking for volunteers for a charity event, replying to all 20 just to say "I can't make it" creates unnecessary clutter and distraction for 19 people.

Overusing "Reply All" can lead to the dreaded "email storm," where people start replying to all just to ask to be removed from the thread. Only use it when your response is vital information for every single person on the chain. If you are only answering a specific question from the sender, just hit "Reply."
The Use of Professional Salutations

When sending a professional email, it is best to avoid the casual greetings you use with your friends. Introducing yourself with ‘Hey’, ‘Yo’, or ‘Hiya’ is incredibly informal. It is rarely the appropriate way to introduce yourself to a fellow colleague or professional, and it is doubtful that a client would appreciate opening an email from a business partner with such laid-back language.

Stick to "Dear [Name]" for formal correspondence or "Hi [Name]" for colleagues you know well. If you are unsure of the level of formality required, it is always safer to start formal and mirror the recipient's tone in subsequent replies. Using a person's name correctly is also vital; double-check the spelling of their name before you hit send.
Reply To All Your Emails

Replying to every email can seem like a chore, especially when you are swamped, but it is important to try. Ignoring emails can be interpreted as negligence or rudeness. Even if you cannot provide a full answer immediately, a quick holding response—"I've received your email and will get back to you by Wednesday"—manages expectations and shows respect for the sender's time.

This rule extends to emails sent to you accidentally. A polite "I think this was intended for someone else" is much better than silence, as it alerts the sender that their intended recipient hasn't seen the message. These small courtesies help build strong professional relationships.
Humour Can Be Misinterpreted

Humour is great; it helps break the ice when meeting new people or defusing awkward situations. The problem is that it rarely has a place in email unless you know the recipient extremely well. Without facial expressions, tone of voice, or body language, sarcasm and dry wit can easily be misread as aggression or incompetence.

In a workplace, especially an international one where language barriers exist, jokes often fail to translate. What you intend as a lighthearted comment might be viewed as unprofessional or offensive by someone from a different background. When in doubt, leave the humour out and keep the tone neutral and professional.

See our page on Developing Humour for more about this.
Exclamation Points Can Be a Trap

When using exclamation points, it has become common practice for many to overuse them in an attempt to sound friendly or enthusiastic. However, in conventional English punctuation, multiple exclamation marks are reserved for extreme emotions—like a drowning man shouting "Help!".

Overloading your sentences with "!!" does not add context; it often makes you come across as immature or overly emotional. In a professional setting, rely on your choice of words to convey your meaning rather than punctuation. A single exclamation point to convey genuine enthusiasm ("Great job on the report!") is fine, but use them sparingly.

For more see our page on Punctuation.

Cultures Around the World Speak and Write Differently

Cultural awareness is a massive part of modern email etiquette. Cultures around the world communicate in different ways, which dictates how personal an email is, how direct it should be, or even how long it is.

For example, business cultures in Germany or the USA often value efficiency and directness; getting straight to the point is seen as respectful of time. Conversely, in cultures like Japan or many Latin American countries, diving straight into business without a period of polite inquiry about the recipient's wellbeing can be seen as cold or rude. Before emailing an international colleague, take a moment to understand their communication norms.

See our page on Intercultural Communication for more.
Use a Professional Email Address

This one should be obvious, but it is frequently overlooked. If you work for a company, you should always use your company email address for business correspondence. It validates who you are and ensures the security of the communication.

However, if you are self-employed, freelancing, or applying for jobs, avoid using the personal email address you created when you were a teenager. An address like "partyboy123@email.com" or "cute_kitten_xoxo@email.com" immediately undermines your credibility. Set up a generic address that consists simply of your name (e.g., firstname.surname@email.com) for all professional interactions.
Avoid Slang, Emoticons, or Text Speak

In a workplace, a professional should never use slang, shortcuts for words (like "u" instead of "you"), or text-speak (like "LOL" or "thx"). While these are acceptable in instant messaging apps like Slack or Teams among close teammates, email remains a formal record of correspondence.

Using text-speak makes you appear lazy or lacking in basic communication skills. Furthermore, emojis should be used with extreme caution. While a smiley face might soften a blow in a casual email to a peer, it can look unprofessional when sent to a manager or a client. Always aim for clarity and proper grammar.
High Priority Option

Most email clients allow you to flag a message as "High Priority," usually adding a red exclamation mark to the recipient's inbox. Using this option more than necessary is a fast way to annoy your colleagues. If you mark every email as urgent, people will stop taking your actual emergencies seriously—it is the digital equivalent of the boy who cried wolf.

Reserve the "High Priority" flag for true emergencies where there are immediate financial, safety, or deadline-critical implications. If it can wait 24 hours, it isn't high priority.
Short, To-the-Point Emails

People find reading large walls of text difficult, especially on mobile devices where many emails are now read. We live in a culture of information overload; if your email is three paragraphs long, the recipient is likely to skim it and miss key details.

It is best practice to keep your messages concise. If you have multiple points to cover, use bullet points or numbered lists to break up the text. This makes the email scannable and increases the likelihood that your questions will be answered. If you find yourself writing an essay, consider whether a phone call or a meeting might be a better channel for the conversation.
Check You’ve Selected the Correct Recipient

This is perhaps the most common and most dangerous error in email etiquette. Email clients often autocomplete names in the "To" field. It is incredibly easy to type "Dave" intending to email your colleague Dave Smith, only for the software to autocomplete "Dave Jones"—your biggest client.

Sending confidential information, gossip, or internal documents to the wrong person can have serious legal and professional consequences. Always double-check the email address before hitting send. This is also why it’s best to avoid personal chat on work emails: you never know when management might need to audit your inbox, or when you might accidentally forward a chain containing sensitive personal comments.

Conclusion

Email is likely to remain the primary method of business communication for the foreseeable future. By refining your email etiquette, you do more than just follow rules; you demonstrate professionalism, respect for your colleagues, and attention to detail. Take the extra minute to proofread your subject line, check your recipients, and ensure your tone is appropriate. These small habits will pay dividends in your professional reputation.

The Skills You Need Guide to Personal Development

12 Tips on Email Etiquette

A Clear Subject Line

Careful Which ‘Reply’ You Use

The Use of Professional Salutations

Reply To All Your Emails

Humour Can Be Misinterpreted

Exclamation Points Can Be a Trap

Cultures Around the World Speak and Write Differently

Use a Professional Email Address

Avoid Slang, Emoticons, or Text Speak

High Priority Option

Short, To-the-Point Emails

Check You’ve Selected the Correct Recipient

Conclusion