Some people just don’t know how to send an email. FROM TYPING IN ALL CAPS to an unnecessary ‘reply all,’ it can be frustrating to have a conversation with someone through email who doesn’t know the proper etiquette. But like all things, most employees with poor email etiquette don’t do so intentionally. They simply don’t know that they’re doing anything wrong at all. If email etiquette and professionalism are becoming a problem, don’t let things go unnoticed. Give employees the training they need to be successful, and then you can deal with any issues on a case-by-case basis. As many companies are putting together their social media guidelines for the first time, this can be a great opportunity to refresh employees on email etiquette.

Among younger generations, email is not always the preferred method of communication. The problems arise when people use text-messaging shorthand in professional business communications. As social media tools become more common in the workplace, we can expect to see email being used less and less.

So what does a professional email look like?
A professional email isn’t complicated. It should be very clear and to the point. If someone asks you questions in an email, answer every one that you can and acknowledge any that you can’t. When you expect someone to take action based on your email, it’s important to make it absolutely clear what you expect of that person. And don’t forget about the subject line. When you are writing an email, you spend most of your time looking at the body—not the subject. But when someone receives an email, the subject and sender will be the first thing they see. The person receiving the email should instantly know what the email is about after reading the subject.

Once you’ve crafted a clear and concise email, do not hit send. Take a deep breath and read back through the email. Did you spell the person’s name correctly? If there are any squiggly red lines under any of your words, find out why. Spell check isn’t always right, but don’t just ignore it. If the email is being sent to a client or customer, spelling and punctuation mistakes come across as unprofessional.

Don’t get creative
Whatever you do, don’t try and jazz up an email with a cool font or hip background image. Just keep it simple. Leave the design to the designers, and focus on sending an average looking email with above average clarity.