Business relationships today are sometimes conducted solely through e-mail. E-mails:

• Eliminate telephone tag
• Are quicker than other communication vehicles
• Allow others to be simultaneously included
• Reduce meetings
• Provide documentation of communications

But e-mails can also:

• Diminish productivity if messages are not well written
• Create lack of credibility when messages are badly written
• Create misunderstandings and possibly offend people
• Limit confidentiality
• Unnecessary e-mails that waste time

Here are some tips:

• Don't waste time getting to the heart of the message.
• Make the subject line informative.
• Don't allow incoming e-mails distract you from your job. Turn off the notification of new e-mails, and just read and respond to e-mails at scheduled times.

E-mails should always be professional. They are often forwarded to people you don't know.

• E-mail is not always the best way to communicate, especially when:
• Content is private or confidential
• Communication should include physical expressions
• Content is very complex
• There is a humorous intent that may be misinterpreted

From The CPA Journal, November 2005. For the complete article, click on the following link: http://www.nysscpa.org/cpajournal/2005/1105/perspectives/p14.htm.