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E-mail Usage and Etiquette

Introduction

E-mail is a powerful and very useful tool that can make your life easier and more efficient. At the same time, however, it does have its limitations and drawbacks.

This course will teach you the basics of using e-mail and how to avoid common pitfalls.

By the end of this lesson you will learn: When to use Reply vs. Reply to All

How to attach a document or open an attachment

When not to send an e-mail

How to organize and manage mail

How to use Tasks and the Calendar to plan your day

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Sending and Receiving Mail

Replying to E-mails

• Sometimes you may receive e-mail that is sent to a large list of people. The example above shows that this e-mail is from Allan Cohn, who it was sent To, and who was CC’ed.

• An open e-mail has a toolbar with some new options including Reply, Reply to All, and Forward.

• Reply will generate a new message only to the original sender.• Reply to All will generate a new message to the original sender and

every recipient of the e-mail. • Replying to all inappropriately can be very annoying and wastes

bandwidth. Before you reply to all, think about whether or not EVERYONE who got the original mail needs to know what you have to say. Often times only the original sender will care to see your reply.

• Forward can be used to send a copy of the e-mail to someone who did not originally receive it but needs to be aware of it.

• After selecting one of the three options you may still add additional e-mail addresses to the To… Cc… or BCC… fields.

Flagging

• The flag icon in the message toolbar can be used to flag the message for various purposes.

• Flagging a message for follow up is the default and one of the most useful.

• Clicking the dropdown arrow for Due by: will display a calendar where you can choose the day the follow up is due.

• In the next dropdown you can select a time when the message is due for follow up and you will receive a reminder at that time.

• If you have completed the follow up you can check the Completed box and choose OK to dismiss the reminder.

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Attachments

Attaching a File

• You can attach any sort of file to an e-mail, but keep in mind some e-mail servers restrict the types of files users can receive. Typically, Microsoft Office documents (Word, Power Point, Excel files) are always allowed.

• Before attaching a file you need to know where the file is located. MS Office programs usually save files to My Documents by default.

• To attach a file, click the paper clip in the toolbar of any sort of e-mail (new message, reply, forward, etc.) you are composing.

• This opens a dialogue box where you must specify the location of the file you wish to attach. This will open My Documents by default. If your file is saved in another location you will have to navigate to it.

Attaching a File

• Click on the file you want to attach then click the Insert button.• The icon, file name, and size of your attachment will now be

displayed in the header of your e-mail.• Be aware of the size of your attachments. Large attachments

(over 1 MB) may take a while to download and can sometimes lock up people’s computers. If you must send a large attachment, consider compressing it.

Compressing Files

• Windows XP and Vista include the ability to compress a file with no additional software. Other versions of Windows require a separate program for compression.

• To compress a file in XP or Vista, right-click on it’s icon and highlight Send To> from the menu.

• Click Compressed (zipped) Folder• Your computer will compress the

file. This may take a few minutes depending on the speed of your PC and the size of the file.

• Once the process is finished you will have a new icon for the zipped file with the same name as the original. When you get ready to attach the file, make sure to choose the file with the .zip extension.

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Do’s and Don’ts

Helpful Tips

• Always include a subject, a greeting, and a closing• Think before you Reply to All• Don’t forward chain letters to co-worker’s work e-

mail. If you think they might enjoy the message, ask their permission to send it to their personal e-mail

• Proofread every message• Use a signature that clearly identifies you• Never send anything in e-mail you wouldn’t be

comfortable printing out and posting on a bulletin board for the world to see

• Keep the message short and focused

When Not to Send an E-mail

• E-mail can save time and make communication more efficient, but it is not always the most appropriate medium.

• If any of the following are true it is probably time to pick up the phone or meet face to face to discuss, or save the e-mailing for later. Three e-mails have already been sent regarding the topic You find yourself writing an e-mail more than two or three paragraphs You proofread and realize you are gloating about something You proofread and realize you are being defensive You are angry You don’t really know what you want (don’t be vague) The exchange of information is over and you are down to one word

replies You should be concentrating on something or someone else You have nothing to add to the discussion

• Remember that your colleagues and coworkers probably receive quite a bit of e-mail and irrelevant or unnecessary e-mails add to this load and your e-mail could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

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Organizing Outlook

Setting a View

• Outlook can be customized to make viewing e-mail simple and convenient.

• Click on View>Arrange By to see a list of ways your inbox can be organized to make finding and reviewing your e-mail easier. Some options include sorting by date, sender, size, subject, and importance.

• The Reading Pane can be activated under the View menu to enable reading e-mail in Outlook without having to open it.

• The Navigation Pane can also be enabled or disabled in the View menu. This pane allows you to quickly navigate to Mail, Contacts, Calendar, and Tasks and the subfolders of your mailbox.

Example View

• An example of Outlook with the Navigation Pane and Reading Pane viewing the Inbox sorted by sender.

Folders

• Creating sub-folders in your Inbox can help you manage mail more efficiently. E-mails can be dragged and dropped into folders or rules can be setup that automatically move mail.

• To create a folder, right click the Inbox in the Navigation Pane and choose New Folder. Type a name for the folder and click okay.

• I use folders to organize mail from certain groups of people. Some prefer to create a folder in which to place e-mails that require follow up or additional actions and another folder to move these messages into after the tasks are complete.

Creating a Rule

• Rules can be used to automatically move messages to folders, flag messages, or delete messages based on the sender or words in the e-mail.

• To create a rule, click Tools>Rules Wizard. The wizard has walk-throughs for creating new rules. To get started, click New Rule.

• Choose From Template.• There are different options for

what the rule should do. Pick the appropriate one. For an example we will create a rule to move messages from someone to a folder.

• Click Next.

Creating a Rule

• The next dialogue box prompts you to select the conditions for the rule. For this example we will choose “from people or distribution list.” Multiple items can be checked if you are creating a more complex rule.

• To choose which people’s e-mail you want moved and where you want to move it to, use the links in the pane labeled Step 2.

• Click on “people or distribution list” to bring up the Rule Address dialogue box. This will bring up the Global Address book if available or you can type an e-mail in the text box beside the From-> button then click OK to add the e-mail to the rule.

• After adding all the addresses click on the word “specified” under step two.

• Select a folder you have created and click OK.

• Click Next if you want to add exceptions to the rule.

• Click Finish to complete the rule.

• Any rule can be turned off by un-checking it in the Rules and Alerts window. You can also delete or edit rules here.

Creating a Rule

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Tasks and Calendar

Tasks

• Tasks can be accessed from the Navigation Pane and are useful for helping remind you to get things done and planning your day.

• To create a simple Task with a reminder, click the New button while in the Task manager.

• The subject should be the name of the task.

• Check the Reminder box and select a date and time to receive the reminder.

Tasks

• Recurring Tasks• If a task needs to be completed on a regular basis you can

click the Recurrence button to setup a daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly recurrence of the task.

• A recurrence can be forever or it can be set to end after a specific date or number of recurrences.

• Assigning a Task• You can create a task and assign it to someone else by

clicking the Assign Task button.• This adds a header to the task where you can enter an e-

mail which will receive the task.

Calendar

• The calendar is another useful tool that can be used to plan your day and organize meetings. It can be accessed through the navigation pane.

• To create a calendar event, choose the day you want the meeting to occur from the left pane. Next, right click any point in the right pane, which displays events for the day.

• Click New Appointment to opent the appointment tool.

• Subject should be filled out with a meaningful description of the meeting. Location should be clearly defined or should indicate the meeting is a conference call and provide dial in information.

• Start time and end time can be set along with a reminder, similar to tasks.

• Reoccurrences can be scheduled in the same way they are for tasks.

• You can also attach files to send with the invitation.

Calendar

• If you are scheduling a meeting you want others to attend, click Invite Attendees from the toolbar. This adds a To… box in the header where you can enter the e-mails of people you want to invite.

• There is a space in the bottom to type a message to attendees. This should include a summary of the purpose of the meeting and outline anything the attendees should bring or be prepared to discuss.

• Once finished, click Save and Close.• If your calendar is shared you can create calendar events for

yourself and others will be able to see that you are busy during those times and won’t schedule meetings for you then.

Calendar

• Other people may send you meeting requests that will appear in your inbox.

• Below the tool bar will be buttons for Accept, Tentative, Decline, or Propose New Time.

• Notice that below the toolbar there is a message that this meeting conflicts with another appointment on my calendar. I can either decline this meeting or I could propose a new time when I am not busy.

• Proposing a new time will open up a calendar creation item where you can select a new time for the meeting to send back to the meeting requester.

• If you decline the meeting you will be given the opportunity to send a message stating why you declined.

• If you accept the meeting or tentatively accept the requester will receive an acknowledgement e-mail and the meeting goes to your calendar.

Calendar

• You can right click on calendar items to modify or delete them. • If you change a meeting request you have sent to others you

will be asked if you want to send an update before you close the item.

• If you try to edit an appointment that is part of a recurring series you will be asked if you want to edit the series or the single occurrence. In order to fully remove a recurring event from your calendar you must delete the series.

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In Closing

Conclusion

• All communication will result in one of three potential outcomes:• Brings people closer together• Maintains the status quo• Drives people apart

• Through careful and effective e-mail usage you can ensure your communication always brings people together to create a more pleasant work environment.

• Questions?