Email Survival Skills: Survival Tips Compatible with Microsoft Outlook 2010 & 2013 (2015)

Email Etiquette: Repair Kit and Tools

Who knows what you will need to repair on the trail, so keep a few tools in your backpack to fix punctures in mattresses or bike tires, tears in your backpack or tent, or to sharpen your knife.

Not knowing what you will have to repair on the trail, I recommend carrying duct tape. One experienced camper told me he wraps a few pieces of duct tape around his water bottle so it is immediately ready in case of an emergency. He calls it part of his poor man’s repair kit.

As repair and tools relate to email, it is much better to use proper email etiquette as a tool for success than to do repairs. Proper etiquette includes:

· Running a spell check before you send the email, and don’t forget the subject line. It needs to be spell checked as well. One email subject line was supposed to read “Public Hearing at 2:00” but read “Pubic Hearing at 2:00.”

· Checking the context before you push ‘send.’ An email I received had stated: “Your email pooped back to me” instead of “Your email popped back to me.” Be sure to read through your message, analyzing the meaning conveyed to the reader and to find miscues that spell check won’t catch.

· Returning a quick email to the sender if you cannot complete the request in a timely manner. It will reduce tension between you and the sender if you let the sender know when you can complete the task.

Examples of hard things to repair are:

· Using ‘Reply to All’ and CC for ego reasons, hoping you will get kudos for what you did.

· Sending a BCC to someone who opens it, but doesn’t realize she is BCC and then replies to all.

· Writing IN ALL CAPS UNLESS YOU REALLY MEAN TO YELL AT THE PERSON.

· Using emoticons as an attempt for humor or to lighten the mood instead of looking for descriptive words.

· Making every email subject line read: High Priority! Must Respond Immediately – and then they find out you were only crying wolf. You will desensitize the readers and they may routinely skip your emails.

Use the appropriate email tools and etiquette and avoid the repair kit.