Before you bang out a quick email to a client, there’s something you should know about what thrills and what kills your image in email. People are making quick judgments about you based on things you may have never guessed were important. New research shows there are 3 mistakes in email that people consider worse than using profanity.
3 Worst Email Mistakes
- Spelling Errors
- Grammar Errors
- No Subject Line
The study was conducted through a survey of more than 1,200 men and women between the ages of 18 and 64. The findings are extremely relevant to anyone in business. Unlike the etiquette of texting, with email, people expect you to use proper spelling and grammar. In fact, they judge you more harshly than if you used profanity if you neglect to check your emails and correct mistakes. Often, email is your first impression or it is your first follow-up to an initial meeting. That’s why understanding how people judge you through email is critical to your success.
Punctuation vs Profanity
In addition to the Top 3 Email Mistakes (listed above), it turns out that 70% of the respondents found profanity in an email no worse than having excessive punctuation or using all-caps in your subject line.
Sounds like “small stuff,” but if you want to positively influence people, it’s important to “Sweat the Small Stuff!” Through every point of contact – including email – your bosses, co-workers, clients and prospects are continually building their impressions of you. 80% of those in this survey found spelling and grammatical errors to be unacceptable, and about the same percentage preferred email signatures provide the professional title of the sender. It demonstrates that with email – just like in actual face-to-face meetings – people are forming split-second judgments and impressions about each other. And these first impressions, once made, are difficult to change.
What Works In Email
Even if you are in a rush, you should diligently proof your emails for spelling and grammatical errors. It takes way more time to do damage control if your email hits someone wrong. Always use a subject line in upper and lower case to give reference to why you’re emailing. Humor, being authentic, and using a more formal structure were all rated as positive by the majority of respondents to the survey.
One interesting gender difference came out in the survey: Men found the more formal tone of an email to be more persuasive. Another point I ask my clients to keep in mind: email is not a face-to-face communication, so recipients have a hard time judging tone. If it’s a particularly important email, you may want to have someone you trust read it before you send to make sure your words don’t come across in a way you didn’t intend.
For all the findings of the survey, visit: http://www.scoopnest.com/user/Inc/587638714148528128