6. Proofread¹ every message.

 

Your mistakes won't go unnoticed by the recipients³ of your email. "And, depending upon the recipient², you may be judged for making them," Pachter says.

 

Don't rely on spell-checkers. Read and re-read your email a few times, preferably aloud, before sending it off.

 

"One supervisor⁴ intended to write 'Sorry for the inconvenience,'" Pachter says. "But he relied on his spell-check and ended up writing 'Sorry for the incontinence.'"

 

7. Add the email address last.

 

"You don't want to send an email accidentally before you have finished writing and proofing the message," Pachter says. "Even when you are replying to a message, it's a good precaution to delete the recipient's address and insert it only when you are sure the message is ready to be sent."

 

8. Double-check that you've selected the correct recipient.

 

Pachter says to pay careful attention when typing a name from your address book on the email's "To" line. "It's easy to select the wrong name, which can be embarrassing to you and to the person who receives the email by mistake."

 

9. Keep your fonts classic.

 

Purple Comic Sans has a time and a place (maybe?), but for business correspondence, keep your fonts, colors, and sizes classic.

 

The cardinal⁵ rule: Your emails should be easy for other people to read.

 

"Generally, it is best to use 10- or 12- point type and an easy-to-read font such as Arial, Calibri, or Times New Roman," Pachter advises. As for color, black is the safest choice.

 

10. Nothing is confidential⁶ -- so write accordingly.

 

Always remember what former CIA chief General David Petraeus apparently⁷ forgot, warns Pachter: Every electronic message leaves a trail.

 

"A basic guideline is to assume that others will see what you write," she says, "so don't write anything you wouldn't want everyone to see." A more liberal interpretation⁸: Don't write anything that would be ruinous to you or hurtful to others. After all, email is dangerously easy to forward, and it's better to be safe than sorry.

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