Emoticons and email etiquette

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald

Conveying message via business email is fast and straight to the point which is why email etiquette is important to avoid miscommunication from the receiver. Normally the common mistakes by the writer would be assuming that the receiver would understand what would the subject line of the email would be. Basically, a subject line helps to summarise the message conveniently such as providing more detailed information rather than the subject itself. Keeping the message concise to the point is vital to avoid lengthy message as it would be irritating to scroll down through pages of text in order to arrive at the message they want to read (Tuffley 2009).

When it comes to fonts and colours, it would be best to not to use capital letters in email which it represents anger and threaten. Besides, it would be advisable for one not to compose an email while they are angry because this would end up misinterpreted from the receiver. On top of that, layout of the email is important for readability such as using spaces, commas and paragraphs to break long and lengthy sentences to make it easier for the reader (Tuffley 2009).

Source: Cartoon Stock

Emoticons are misuse in business emails where misinterpretation comes in from another business partner. Basically, an emoticon of a smiley face would be used if an employer is trying to congratulate someone who is getting promoted or achieving an award and so forth. However, misuse of emoticons in serious business emails may lead to sarcasm which it is interpreted wrongly by the receiver. An emoticon can be put into a good used such as removing criticism from an email while coaching an employee so it would sound friendlier rather than a tense up email as this soften the tone in the message conveyed. Another would be inserting an emoticon in emails as thanking the buyers for purchasing the product so they would know that the seller is pleased dealing business with them (Judith 2008).

Last but not least, it is vital for the write to know when to use an emoticon in business email to soften the tone or to tell others that the writer is pleased. However, when it comes to email writing, email etiquette is important to convey the message properly to avoid any miscommunication with the receiver.

References:
Tuffley, D 2009, Email Etiquette, Griffith University, viewed 14 June 2010, http://www.cit.griffith.edu.au/~davidt/email_etiquette.htm.

Judith 2008, Emoticons in Business E-mail, Business E-mail Etiquette, viewed 14 June 2010, http://www.businessemailetiquette.com/emoticons-in-business-e-mail/.

Johnson, D 2009, What you need to know about emoticons in e-mail, bnet.com, viewed 14 June 2010, http://blogs.bnet.com/businesstips/?p=5725.