Letter Writing Etiquette

Use letter writing etiquette in all of your writings.

Whether you are sending an email to a friend, writing thank you letters or drafting a professional business letter, the words you write are a reflection on you.

Be sure your words are reflecting well.

Here are some letter writing rules to follow:

• Don't yell. Did you know that writing in all capital letters connotes yelling? Many people make this mistake when sending emails, especially if their typing skills are not too great. Use proper capitalization in your written correspondence.

• Watch your tone. Tone of voice cannot be heard through written communications. You may think you are being funny but the reader could interpret your words as being rude. Assume that your reader does not know your personality well enough to know when you are joking and rewrite anything that could be construed otherwise.

• Err on the side of caution. When you are not sure how receptive the reader will be to casualties, always err on the side of caution and wait for them to give you approval to lighten things up. Rather than writing "Hey Paul...." you should opt for "Dear Mr. Jones." If he replies "Please call me Paul," you can lighten things up a bit in your next letter.

• Identify yourself. Unless you are absolutely sure that your reader will know who the correspondence is coming from, always identify yourself by signing your full name (and title, if appropriate) and the end of all written correspondence.

If you are writing a friendly letter you don't need to worry so much about the structure of the letter. If, however, you are writing a more professional letter, you may find this letter writing template helpful. Use it as a starting point to help you create effective correspondence.

Letter writing etiquette should not be ignored on the computer. Whether you are sending emails or chatting in an online forum, your words are still a reflection of yourself. Here are some additional letter writing rules that apply solely to computer correspondence.

• Emails can still be professional. You email your friends and family all the time, but email is becoming a popular method of sending business-related correspondence. Just because it is being sent via email does not give you free reign to be informal. All the rules of professional letter writing etiquette still apply over email.

• Avoid spreading viruses. If you do not recognize the name of the sender - do not open the email it could contain a virus. For this same reason, avoid forwarding emails that have been forwarding to and from many different people. Not only are they annoying but they could also contain viruses.

• Be careful when responding. Most email programs have two reply buttons, "reply" and "reply to all." Be sure to choose the right one. If you only want your response to go to the sender you should choose "reply." If you choose "reply to all" your response will go to everyone that the sender sent their original email to - even the ones that were blind copies (meaning that they were copied on the email without the other receivers being able to see that they were copied).

• Be careful with confidential information. Remember that emails are sent via the internet. There are many ways for information to tracked online. Be very cautious when sending confidential information in an email. If it is critical that this information not be made public, email is probably not the best method of sending it.

Follow these letter writing etiquette tips in all of your written communications and always project your best image.