Ethics of business correspondence. We do not work on sayings! About internal correspondence of the organization

business correspondence e-mail - convenient way written communication between business entities. You have to write and receive a lot of letters, and the speed and correctness of communication is one of the components of the successful work of the company. Some rules business correspondence.

E-mail has firmly taken its place in business correspondence due to its advantages - availability around the clock, efficiency, and ease of use. In this article, we will look at some of the nuances of online business correspondence.

Receiving letters

You should check your mailbox several times during the working day. Otherwise, you can delay the decision important issues and stop other people's work.
If you received a letter, then you need to read it, because someone sent it. Naturally, we are not talking about spam here.
If you are a manager, then your working day should begin with checking your mail. For convenience, set your email client to automatically deliver or send mail every 10-20 minutes.
In the event that you are busy and you receive an email, look at who it is from, what the subject of the email is, and quickly look at the title to gauge the importance of the email.
Try to answer emails right away - this will help you avoid blockages in the mail.

Use the To, Cc, and Bcc fields correctly

"To whom". If you send a question or ask for clarification, then you are waiting for an answer from the addressee, whose data is indicated in the “to” field. When you are the recipient, you need to answer the question. That is, this field contains the recipient's data.
"Copy". The recipient whose data is indicated in this field are, as it were, “invited eyewitnesses”. The recipient in this case should not reply to the letter. In addition, if you need to send such a letter, it should begin with the lines “sorry to interfere,” out of courtesy.
"Hidden copy". The fact that the letter was sent to the addressee whose data is indicated in the "blind copy" field is unknown to the main recipient. In addition, this field is used for mass mailing.

When replying, do not forget about the "reply all" button, this will help you not to miss a single recipient. You can delete unwanted recipients and add new ones at any time.

Subject field. This field must always be filled in. The person to whom the letter is addressed can receive a huge amount of mail per day, and by this field he will be able to assess the degree of importance of the letter. The subject of the letter should briefly and informatively reflect its content.

"The Importance of Writing". In the case when the letter contains important or urgent information that needs urgent consideration, indicate this, set the importance to "high". This will make your email stand out in your inbox. But don't overuse this feature.

How to reply to email

Below we will consider a small instruction on writing a response to a letter.

You should always start with a greeting - a tribute to courtesy, nothing can be done.
You need to communicate with a person in his language. And this applies not only to linguistics, but also to the form of communication. Informal communication can be regarded as disrespect, and even an attempt to offend the interlocutor.
You should not use transliteration, except when sending a letter with mobile phone. In the case when your mail client does not have the Russian language, send the text of the letter in the application.
A business letter should be restrained, precise and concise. Accuracy means clearly indicating the data you are referring to (date, place, time, etc.). Specificity - the recipient of your letter should understand from the very first lines what exactly is required of him. Conciseness. If you are a clear thinker, you are able to express your thoughts clearly. And your interlocutor will immediately see and appreciate it. Therefore, you should avoid "water" for several pages if you can state the essence of the matter in a few sentences.
When a letter contains several questions, tasks or topics, they need to be structured and separated from each other. A continuous stream of thoughts is difficult to read, and even more difficult to extract important points from it.
Requests made in letters should be answered in as much detail as possible. Answers like "To be done" are not acceptable.
There should be no errors in the text of the letter. It's not scary if one or two minor typos creep in. But if you suffer from chronic illiteracy from letter to letter, then the interlocutor will not have the best impression of you.
Always proofread your letters! Read the letter several times and make sure that you haven't missed anything, check it for errors, whether the recipient's details are correct, etc., etc.

The activity of any organization - industrial or commercial - is unthinkable without internal document management. Acceptance of reasonable management decisions directly depends on how fully the collection and analysis of information from various sources about the state of affairs in the organization. And the most important place in the flow of business information is occupied by the so-called. information and reference documents: summaries, acts, certificates, reports, explanatory and memos, etc.
Probably more than once in the process labor activity you were a witness or even a participant in unpleasant clarifications like “I told you! Why didn't you do it?!" or “It should have been done by the first number! Ivan Stepanych should have told you about this on the phone!” It is practically impossible to prove that the mentioned instructions were or were not given. So, in order not to work on fairy tales, not to get into such situations and not to prove in a day that you are not a two-humped animal from the African continent, there is a whole family of information and reference documents called notes.
In the process of production, commercial or other activities, as a rule, the following types of notes are distributed:
1) report;
2) official;
3) explanatory;
4) explanatory.
Let's consider them in more detail.

memorandum

Our dictionary
memorandum- this is an information and reference document addressed to the head of an organization, structural unit or higher organization, containing a detailed and detailed presentation of any issue or problem, containing the conclusions and proposals of the compiler on the issue set out in the note.

By a memorandum, as a rule, employees inform management about the events that have taken place, facts and phenomena that require a decision. In office slang, memos are not in vain called "mortgages" - usually by writing a memorandum, employees of the organization inform management about various misconduct and violations.
The memorandum can be created both on the personal initiative of the employee, and on behalf of the head.
The memorandum can be:

external (if the memorandum is sent outside the organization, for example, to a higher organization);
internal (if it does not leave the organization).

An external memorandum is drawn up on the general letterhead of the organization and contains the following details:

name of company;
name of the type of document (MEMORY);
document date;
registration number of the document;
place of compilation or publication of the document;
destination;
title to the text;
document text;
signature (head of the organization);
mark about the performer (the so-called GUIDE).

Our advice
According to clause 3.18 of GOST R 6.30-2003 “Unified Documentation Systems. Unified system of organizational and administrative documentation. Requirements for paperwork” title can answer the questions “about what (about whom)?”. We advise you to use just such a form of heading. Refrain from constructions like "Regarding ..." and "Regarding ..." - they look tongue-tied and ponderous.

An external memo is shown in Example 1.

In fairness, I note that in practice I have never met external reports. Letters are usually used for this purpose.
The internal memorandum is used very widely. It is addressed to the head in the order of direct subordination and is drawn up on standard sheet A4 paper. This means that you can omit the details contained on the main form: “Organization emblem or trademark (service mark)”; "Code of the organization", "Main state registration number (OGRN) legal entity»; “Taxpayer Identification Number / Registration Reason Code (TIN/KPP)”; “Reference data about the organization; "Place of compilation or publication of the document." All necessary details should be indicated, located in accordance with GOST R 6.30-2003.
“To the head in the order of direct subordination” means that an employee of the unit can write a memorandum addressed to his immediate superior or to the name of a higher manager, but in this case, the immediate superior must first read the memorandum and put his visa. You can’t “jump over the head” of your immediate supervisor (unless, of course, this is your last working day in this organization, and tomorrow you fly away to live and work in New York or Mars forever). This is the observance of subordination, do not neglect it.
An internal memorandum is provided in Example 1.

The text of the memorandum usually has the following structure:
a) a preamble, or introductory part, which sets out the reasons or facts that gave rise to the creation of the document;
b) analysis of the current situation;
c) conclusions and suggestions on what actions should be taken, given the circumstances.

Internal memorandum is used very widely. It is addressed to the head in the order of direct subordination and is drawn up on a standard sheet of A4 paper. This means that you can omit the details contained on the main form:

company logo or trademark (service mark);
organization code;
main state registration number (OGRN) of a legal entity;
taxpayer identification number/registration reason code (TIN/KPP);
reference data about the organization;
place of compilation or publication of the document.

You should specify all the necessary details in accordance with GOST R 6.30-2003.

“To the head in the order of direct subordination” means that an employee of the unit can write a memorandum addressed to his immediate superior or to the name of a higher manager, but in this case, the immediate superior must first read the memorandum and put his visa. You can’t “jump over the head” of your immediate supervisor (unless, of course, this is your last working day in this organization, and tomorrow you fly away to live and work in New York or Mars forever). This is the observance of subordination, do not neglect it.

An internal memorandum is provided in Example 2.

L.A. Nazarova,
head of the office

The material is published in part. You can read it in full in the magazine.

The success of your business consists of many components, it is a quality product and a well-chosen development strategy, and the professionalism of employees. In addition, a very important component is how you communicate with your clients or colleagues.

Today we will talk about the importance of business etiquette in correspondence, what are the basic rules for writing letters, how to put them into practice and how this can affect the development of your business.

Why you need to follow the rules of business correspondence

Photo from site First

It is impossible to imagine business communications of firms and companies without conducting electronic correspondence. The Internet has taken over the world for a long time. No one will remember the last time he solved business issues by sending a message by mail. Let's think about how you communicate with colleagues, clients, customers and competitors?

Let's try to answer a few questions:

Have you ever experienced the feeling that after sending a letter you will not be answered?
Have you ever called back the interlocutor and asked him to read your message?
Have you re-read the text of the same message several times, without understanding what exactly the interlocutor is trying to achieve from you?
Have you tried to decide difficult questions using a lot of e-mails, but never went correct solution without discussing it in person?

If all this is about you, then using the basic rules of correspondence, you will not only save time, but also allow your business to work as efficiently as possible, build trusting relationships based on transparent conditions not only with clients, but also with colleagues and subordinates.

This is why business etiquette is so important.

Basic rules for conducting business correspondence

We will try to tell you about those provisions that will turn your workflow into a simple and enjoyable experience. We divide the postulates into two sections.

The first will include ethical rules. They form the style of your company, allow you to get an idea about you. Therefore, they should be given special attention.

If you start your business letter with:

Hey Ivanov
or
Good evening, Natasha

Hoping for successful cooperation with the interlocutor is simply stupid.

And in the second - those that help us communicate and exchange information. These rules are purely individual and exist within the framework of work on projects and tasks. Of course, there are individual provisions for each company.

So, what should be followed when developing the style of your business correspondence:

Start your letter with a polite attitude

Try to write the full name of the addressee, without abbreviations and any changes.

Be sure to formulate and reflect the subject of the message

This will help the recipient to focus on your message and immediately pay attention to it.

Write Properly

It is very important to check the text before sending it. You do not want the recipient to form an opinion about you as an illiterate leader or employee?

Structure

Eliminate long lyrical digressions and water. The reader doesn't need to know how you spent your day. Only clarity and brevity.

warn

If you send text files, pictures or other documents in the message, be sure to report it. Such a move will help to avoid lost documents.

Keep correspondence

Never delete messages. This is a very important point. Saved letters will help you in solving many problems. In the event of a controversial moment, you can simply find the appropriate message and see what really happened. Many well-known businessmen attach a request not to delete the message to the signature

Varieties of letters

Photo from the site Business Portal DengoDel.com

All messages that you receive or send can be divided into several groups.

We classify them into two:

Communication letters (denials, claims, excuses, confessions, and others).
Letters of agreement.

So, let's look at both types in more detail:

Communication letters: an important aspect of business communication

This group includes all messages that are used as part of communication within the company.

What should you pay attention to when writing such a letter?

Of course, on its structure. Do not write everything with a solid sheet. Remember that the message must have a clear structure. It should consist of the following well-designed elements:

Topic

It is best that it contains a verb. This part of speech denotes action, and any action is a call that draws attention to itself.

For example:

Agree a contract.

Prepare a report.

If you're just sending a file, include the name of the file in the subject line.

Agreement with a milk producer.

Here are a few examples to help you understand why it's so important to get the message's purpose right.

Photo from rulesplay.ru/

The theme will help you find the message you need, so you don't lose anything or lose sight of it.

For internal correspondence, you can use a single template that is accepted only in your company. But if you write for another company, then it is best to first indicate its name, and then the topic.

Content

It is very important to write correctly and to the point. Only constructive thoughts. It is very important to learn how to correctly and understand how to formulate thoughts and express them. Without it, it's hard to be successful. If you refer to a message that came earlier in the text, then do not be too lazy to quote it and highlight it in some bright color.

Signature

All employees must have a common template. The signature should contain important information that can reflect the address, phone number or other contacts of your organization. It is necessary that communication with you is not difficult.

For example: Sincerely, Ivanov I.89166567889
or
Head of Innovation Department Sergeev. V.V.

If your goal is to establish a trusting relationship with the interlocutor, then use a personal signature that must be attached to the main body of the message. Such individual notes will be very pleasant to any of your colleagues or clients.

For example: All the best, Nikolai Nikolaevich

Thank you for today's communication.

Take care of yourself.

Say hello to family.

Letter of agreement: an indispensable tool for business correspondence

This type of letter is compiled after meetings, negotiations, meetings and conferences.

Its main purpose is to bring clarity to the issues that have been resolved.

Here is an example of the structure of such a message:

Start by greeting and addressing the person you are talking to.
Then duplicate the wording of the purpose of the message, even if it has already been indicated in the oral conversation.
List all the questions that were discussed. And tell everyone decisions taken and ordinances.
After that, fix a few not-so-important issues. So you will prompt the interlocutors to think about the essence of the matter and its possible improvement and modernization.
At the end, ask your questions to the interlocutors to find out if they understand everything.

What depends on the correct design

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Let's look at a few key points:

Font

Write in only one style. On it is necessary to use bold or underlining through the word. Highlight the extremely important and then in rare cases.

Do not write only in capital letters. Many perceive it as shouting and discontent. Such messages do not provoke a response, but only cause fear.

paragraphs

Remember: a separate thought is a separate paragraph. You don't have to put everything under the same brush. Otherwise, you run the risk of remaining a misunderstood interlocutor.

Indentation

Make sure that blocks of text do not merge together. So the letter will be easy and pleasant to read.

Links

If you use them inside the text, then it will become visually more attractive, but in fact - more informative.

How to get into the right style

He speaks very well about the style of messages in his work “The Art of business communication. Laws, tricks, tools ”Alexander Karepin.

She divides messages into those that are better classified as business and those that are personal. Look at the picture.

Photo courtesy rulesplay.ru

If you suddenly find that your business correspondence is most typical of left-column techniques, then you need to work on your communication style.

What result can the observance of the rules of a business letter lead to: instead of concluding

Have you ever thought about how many emails you send and receive every day? On average, about 30, and maybe 40, 50. Now think about how much time you spend trying to understand the purpose, essence and purpose of each of them. How many tasks and questions did your correspondence help to solve?

We waste our time and do not value it. But if you leave 20 seconds less to consider one message, how much time will you save per working day? Approximately 15 minutes. What about a week? And for a year?

Business correspondence is not just etiquette that we need for politeness and harmonization of relations. This is a tool that helps to establish and stabilize business processes in your company, make the activities of management and employees more productive and useful.

We hope that the knowledge that you have received from this material will really be useful to you and become Starting point in building a competent structure for your business.

Business etiquette extends not only to human behavior in society when people communicate with each other in person, but also establishes rules that must be observed in written communication. How to conduct business correspondence correctly and in accordance with the requirements is of interest to everyone who is involved in professional activities or actively interacts with various authorities, solving their issues, for example, as a consumer of a service.

Advantages of business correspondence over other types of information transfer

Despite the fact that the preparation of business letters takes time to write, this form of communication has undeniable advantages.

With their help, important official and confidential information can be transmitted if it cannot be communicated orally.
Created messages can be saved for a long time, you can return to them and re-examine the content.
A letter can be sent simultaneously to several recipients with the same text, which can significantly save time on preparing and sending letters on the same topic.

Business correspondence is a type of business communication carried out in writing for the exchange of information of an official business nature.

The very concept of official correspondence means the presence in it of official or other business information, which for some reason cannot be transmitted to the addressee orally or unofficially. By sending an official message, its author emphasizes his businesslike attitude to the topic. At the same time, he must either represent the organization, indicating all the relevant details, or speak on his own behalf, signing with his real surname, name and patronymic, and providing data on his location or contacts for further exchange of information.

Classification of business correspondence

Business communications can be classified in various ways.

Depending on whether the letter goes beyond one organization, allocate its two types:

External, directed to a third-party recipient.
Internal, used within the same organization.

By purpose business message, correspondence is divided into the following types.

Information mail.
Letter-message.
Application letter.
An inquiry.
Offer letter.
Invitation letter.
Advertising letter.
Reminder letter.
Claim letter.
Letter of guarantee.
Letter of recommendation.
Label letters.

By initiative All business messages are divided into:

initiative letters.
Letters are answers.

And finally by way of transmission information:

Printed, blank letters sent by courier or sent by mail or facsimile.
Emails.

Information mail

The main purpose of this message is to convey official information, for example, about any change in the activities of the organization, which should be taken into account by the recipient: change of location, details, official in charge of resolving any issue. The letter may explain the application of rules, legal requirements, organization regulations. In addition to the actual information part, applications with documents can be added to it.

Letter-message

The content of this type of letter is any information that the addressee needs in order to perform any tasks or functions within the framework of a common business. The peculiarity of the information sent is that it is equally in demand by both the sender and the recipient. Such a message can also be sent in response to a business communication partner's request. Unlike an information letter, it is always shorter in length.

Application letter

A type of business correspondence that involves sending a request for any service or information, for example, about the opportunity to participate in a business event: an exhibition, conference, seminar. As a rule, the letter initiates the recipient to perform actions to provide the requested information, for example: placing an order or an official application, providing details for issuing an invoice for services.

An inquiry

A message sent in order to obtain additional information or documentation with the obligatory justification of the need for the requested information.

Sentence

Type of letter in which the addressee is invited to consider the possibility of cooperation, to get acquainted with the service or product. Commonly used submission form commercial offer. It can be sent proactively or in the form of a response to a letter of inquiry. The peculiarity of such messages is that they can be sent to several recipients at once. If the letter is sent to a potential client for the first time, then, as a rule, it contains general information about company.

This message invites the recipient to a meeting or event. The peculiarity of the letter is that in its design it is allowed to use less official forms with additional elements decorating the message. Also, special attention is paid to detailing the address, date, time and route to the meeting place.

Reminder letter

The purpose of this message is to remind about the obligations given by the recipient as part of the solution of any business issue: pay off the debt, provide a report, make an appointment.

Claim or complaint

Claims are made in the event that one of the parties involved in the communication either failed to fulfill its obligations or made mistakes in their implementation. A distinctive feature of the claim is the presence detailed description violated conditions, information on the assessment of damage and claims for its compensation or correction of the identified violation. Often this type of letter contains attachments, for example, photographs of damaged goods, copies of documents: contracts, acceptance certificates.

Warranty

The sender of such a letter guarantees the fulfillment of the conditions given by him at the conclusion of the contract: a promise to return the goods, deliver them on time, pay the bill or complete the work within the agreed time. The letter of guarantee can be used as a response to a complaint.

A special form of a business message in which its author makes a recommendation to a third party or organization, thereby providing its characteristics. Letters of recommendation are especially common when applying for a job or providing a recommendation of the company to other clients, containing a description of the quality of the services it provides and the features of cooperation.

Etiquette

A specific type of business communication sent when specific events occur that are important to the recipient. This category of letters includes letters of congratulations on holidays and significant events, Thanksgiving letters for the performance of work or participation in the project, letters of condolence. Whatever the reason for writing a message, it is always a manifestation of attention to the recipient.

Business letter etiquette defines several basic requirements for the content of messages.

Targeting.
A clear statement of the purpose of the appeal, which should be clear from the very beginning of the message.
Brevity and conciseness. The letter should not be lengthy, otherwise it will not be read to the end, or studied inattentively, or not read at all.
Structured and logical presentation of information. There should be no randomness, jumping from topic to topic, all parts of the letter should be connected with each other.
The specificity of the information being communicated, thanks to which the recipient will not need to think of anything and should not have any additional questions clarifying the written text.

Respectful address to the addressee.
Formal speech that does not contain vernacular.
Neutrality and lack of emotional coloring of the information provided.
Easy-to-read text that does not contain terms incomprehensible to the recipient.
The ban on the use of emoticons.
No errors or typos.

Nuances of business correspondence

1. When preparing business letters, it is important to take into account some features of written business communications.

Business correspondence rules allow the use of standard phrases.

For example, you can greet the recipient like this:

Hello, dear Petr Semenovich!
Good afternoon, Elena Petrovna!

Finally, you can use phrases such as

Sincerely…
With thanks…
Wishing you success...

When replying to a letter, you can start it like this:

In response to a message received...
According to your request…
Thank you for your interest in our organization.

2. You should not actively use bold or underline text to draw special attention to it, or use this technique in a dosed manner.

3. Emoticons are not used in letters to recipients with whom a trusting relationship has not been established, or the acquaintance period is short. They are excluded if the letter is purely official.

Structure of a business letter

The ethics of writing business letters prescribes the use of a certain structure of a business message.

The main sections of the letter are:

Introduction with the statement of the purpose of the appeal.
The main part with the information that needs to be conveyed to the addressee.
The final part with a conclusion or summary of the text of the letter and information about what result the author of the message expects to receive.
Closing phrase and signature.

Design rules

Official correspondence must be formatted in accordance with the requirements for business letters. Today it is a rarity - official messages, written by hand, in most cases they are created using a computer.

Letters must be printed on the official letterhead of the organization, which exists in enterprises as a ready-made template.

At the top of the letter, information about the organization is indicated: name, postal address of the location, telephone number, email address, bank account details, website website address, logo and, if available, company slogan. You can place this information either in the left corner of the form, or longitudinally at the very top of the sheet.

On the left side of the form, before the beginning of the main text, the registration number and date of registration of the message are indicated, and on the right - the name of the organization and the surname, initials and title of the person to whom the message is sent.

Example corner placement:

Could be like this:

After the main text part, information about attachments to the letter, if any, is entered. At the end of the entire text block, the signature of the person from whom the information is sent is placed.

If the letter is written on several sheets, they must be numbered.

As a result, the completed form may look like this.

business letter samples

When preparing business letters, you can use ready-made examples in order to get an idea of how different types messages, and minimize the time for their preparation.

Ready-made samples allow you to get information about both the design and the wording used in writing them.

Message reply

According to the requirements of etiquette, each received business letter must be answered. However, it is necessary to take into account not only the requirement to provide a response, but also the need to receive it quickly. Therefore, it is important to choose the right way to send a message. If prompt receipt of response information is required, then the best option will be sent by e-mail or fax.

The standard response time to a business letter according to the rules of business correspondence is from one to three days. If a response is not received within this time period, the sender may get the impression that either his message has not been read by the addressee, or he is not ready for correspondence. In the event of a delayed response, etiquette allows for the possibility of making an additional call in order to make sure that the letter was delivered.

Business correspondence within the organization

Internal correspondence in the organization has its own characteristics and depends on the requirements for the document flow established in the company.

Some of the enterprises conduct official internal correspondence, registering all letters in special journals. In other organizations, only internal orders are taken into account, and the rest of the messages are sent by e-mail without registration.

Regarding internal correspondence, all rules governing the exchange of messages with external recipients are preserved.

Internal communications features include:

Less rigid enforcement of rules in messages.
The presence of special forms of letters that are not used in external communications, for example: electronic reports or explanatory notes.

E-mail correspondence: what to look for

In modern reality, most business letters are sent by e-mail, and therefore the requirements for conducting electronic business communication are formed in the rules of business etiquette.

If messages are not sent from corporate servers, you need to be careful about the spelling of the email address. Name e-mail box should be official, and all frivolous options, for example: "krasotka_mary", "supercar" and the like, should not be used.
It is always necessary to fill in the field with the subject of the letter, formulating it as briefly and succinctly as possible.
When writing a response, you can quote the original message so that the recipient can see what questions they want answered. This rule is not strict, it is applied depending on the accepted standards of business correspondence at the enterprise or the established rules of communication with a specific recipient.
It is acceptable to use the capabilities of email programs to request a read message. It is not always necessary to use this option, especially if the letter is written to appeal outside the organization, since the recipient in this case is obliged to send such a notification, which can annoy him. It is better to use the wording in the text of the message with a request to notify of the receipt of the letter: "Please confirm receipt."
The signature in the e-mail has its own characteristics. It should be more detailed than when issued on the letterhead of the organization. In business correspondence, it is customary not only to sign a letter, but also to indicate the name of the organization, position, contact phone number and website of the organization next to the signature. In fact, this format of the signature replaces the heading of the printed form. The capabilities of mail programs allow you to create a signature template and use it with automatic substitution in each message sent.
Attachments are sent as attachments to an e-mail message, and the names of the attached files can be listed in the text.

Knowledge of the rules and their application in business letter allows you to create the sender's reputation as a business person and a reliable partner who is attentive to the information sent to his addressees.

Anyone who strives in business circles to look decent always uses. And he always remembers the main thing - an e-mail should not tarnish either the addressee, or the reputation of the company of which he is a representative, or the business image.

The ability to correctly and competently conduct business e-mail correspondence is the main component of the image of a modern manager. This is both a sign of a general cultural level and an indicator of personal professionalism. In accordance with how a person is able to formulate and formalize his thoughts, one can confidently judge his attitude towards others and towards himself personally. An e-mail, carelessly written, can easily ruin the author's business reputation in the eyes of partners and colleagues.

Business Email Rules

1. Use your work email address for business purposes only. If you send a letter from a working server while at work, it is saved, both outgoing and incoming mail. At any time, your employer can read the letter. Only conduct business correspondence within the walls of the office.

2. Clearly understand to whom your message is addressed and to whom the information contained in it may be useful. To whom is your letter addressed? Client? Partner? Colleague? Subordinate? boss? The addressee is indicated in the column "to whom", those interested - "copy". Never send extra copies, especially to your boss. If third parties are mentioned in the e-mail, then they, as a rule, are also entered in the “copy” column.

3. For yourself, formulate the purpose of the message. What is your goal: what are you trying to achieve from the reader of your letter? What reaction do you expect? The recipient, after reading your message, should immediately understand what you need from him. Rules for conducting electronic correspondence:

If you want to bring an individual look to events - from the first person (we, I)
If your message is of a request or instructive nature - from the 2nd person (you, you)
If you are writing a letter as an outside observer and want to inform the addressee about past facts or events - from the 3rd person (they, she, he).

4. Do not leave the "subject" field empty. Most people who receive e-mail begin their study of correspondence by looking at the "subject" field. A person takes a decision to read a letter in a few seconds, so the content of the letter should be reflected in the subject line. The topic should be short, specific and informative.

5. Follow a clear content: appeal and greeting, main part, summary, signature, contacts. Every letter must contain email etiquette. Do not be lazy and do not skip any of the parts of the accepted content, a correctly designed letter is an indicator of your professionalism.

6. Appeal and greeting to the addressee - an indicator of your respect for him. Begin each letter with a personal message and greeting, if possible. It is polite to address someone by their first name. After the appeal, put a comma if you want to give the message an everyday character. And if you want to emphasize officiality and significance, then an exclamation mark, even if this letter is addressed to a colleague with whom you often communicate.

7. Stick to the principle: short and clear (KJ). One of the main rules of business e-mail correspondence is “minimum words – maximum information”. State your thoughts specifically (clearly), consistently, concisely and understandably. Sentences should be short, so it is easier for the addressee to convey the necessary information. There is one email golden rule- portioned, one topic - one letter. It's better to send multiple emails (each on the same topic) than one big email with a few unrelated ideas.

8. Do not make business correspondence out of informal communication. No emotion in an email! If you want to emphasize the points stated in your e-mail emotionally, the emotional subtext must be hidden behind a neutral, outwardly calm and correct tone of presentation. It is achieved by content, not by language.

9. Stick to a clear structure for building the main text of the letter. Most often, the letter consists of three parts:

The reason for writing the letter (reason, grounds). This part is usually as short as possible.
Sequential presentation of the essence of the issue
Decisions, requests, suggestions, conclusions

10. Appearance messages should be extremely easy to understand. Divide the text into paragraphs, in which there should be no more than five to six lines. It is better to separate paragraphs from each other with an empty line. Choose one color and one font, so the text will be better perceived. It is better not to use exclamation points, emoticons, abbreviations, cursive elements without special need.

11. Write well. An illiterate letter indicates that the author is not sufficiently educated. Your business reputation is discredited by typos and errors in the text. Before sending a letter email etiquette recommends that you read the letter carefully. Many mail programs and text editors can check punctuation and spelling, and when they find errors, they offer correction options. This service is required for writing emails.

12. Think about what documentation you need to transfer to attachments. Do not include in the body of the letter detailed information, it is better to send it as a separate file. Be sure to indicate in the subject line which file you are inserting, otherwise the recipient may regard it as a virus. All files must be checked with anti-virus software before sending.

13. Always write contact information and subscribe. This will show you from the good side and demonstrate your professional qualities. The signature should not be more than five or six lines. It should consist of the name of the company, your first name and the last name of your position. Usually, for external recipients, your email address, phone number, and company website address are also indicated.

14. Postscript is rarely used in business correspondence. If you use a postscript in your message, this is an indicator that you did not think enough about the content of the letter.

15. Only in special cases is a read receipt posted. Usually, a read receipt should be set only for external recipients and only when a response is expected from the recipient.

16. Use the "high importance" flag only when it is really necessary. If the email contains important information that needs urgent consideration, set the importance to "high". This will highlight your email in your inbox. But it is not recommended to abuse this function in vain.

17. Reread the letter before sending it. Is everything concise, specific, clear, is there any inappropriate information and grammatical errors. Is the destination information correct? Check the consistency and logic of the presentation.

18. Respond to emails promptly. Notification of receipt of a letter is a manifestation of respect for colleagues or partners, a sign of good taste. If on this moment you cannot answer the letter, then the author must be informed and promise that you will answer immediately at the first opportunity. Answer all questions in sequence. Do not start your reply as a new letter. If the letter is not answered within 48 hours, then the addressee may think that his letter has been ignored or lost.

19. The one who initiated the correspondence ends the electronic dialogue.

20. Remember that email communication rules, or rather, their observance is an indicator of a modern professional manager.