Introduction Globalisation of economy has brought new opportunities to extend the boundaries of business beyond India. While these opportunities can be very exciting and enriching, they also present the challenges of successfully assimilating with different cultures and navigating business to the desired goal.
These challenges can sometimes become a major roadblock to achieving success when one unconsciously ignores established business etiquette practices.
Etiquette has to do with respect and civility in everyday life. It is about having well-mannered conversations, making others feel welcome and respected, and getting one’s view point accepted without belittling the other’s viewpoint and coming across in a way that makes a great impression.
In a series of articles in the coming months, we shall cover some of the aspects of our daily chores of business, where how we do it can make a BIG difference in our life and business. Some of the areas we would touch upon are enumerated below :
(i) Email etiquette
(ii) Mobile phone etiquette
(iii) Conducting meetings and teleconferences
(iv) Dining etiquette, attire and personal grooming.
Email In spite of its critical importance, email is sometimes treated in such a casual manner that small lapses can become a major hindrance in achieving a desired goal.
Given below are some of the points that may help to make the email communication more effective.
Selection of id Email id for business should be as simple as possible and preferably with name and surname. Selection of id with wild names can backfire. Thus krish. shah@xyz.com will be a far better choice than fantastickrish@xyz.com
Subject line Every email sent must have a subject line. It should not be too general such as ‘Hi’ ‘Bill’, ‘Payment’, ‘Meeting’, etc. as they do not serve any purpose and can be wrongly misinterpreted as spam. Correct way of putting a subject line is to briefly indicate the purpose of the email. Thus, if it is a reminder about payment, then it is better to write the subject line as ‘Payment for bill no.’ Never send email without a subject line as it will pose a great challenge to the recipient to locate your mail later to act on its content and will become an irritant.
First mail If the email is sent for the first time, then it is better to inform the recipient telephonically about the mail. This is because many times people have set a policy on their email server that they should receive mails in their ‘Inbox’ only from the addresses allowed by them.
Salutation It is preferable to write just the name as salutation unless you know the recipient close enough.
Content
Email should be brief and concise, but not in the SMS language. Any understanding or minutes should be enumerated pointwise giving numbers or bullets. One should never write the mail in ‘Capital’ letters as it is interpreted as if one is shouting. If the situation demands sending long text or working calculations, then it is desirable to send the same by way of an attachment.
Spam
Sometimes the recipient or his organisation’s e-mail policy may not appreciate/permit it since it can put undue pressure on his or organisation’s resources. Hence, it is always a good etiquette to take the general consent of the person in advance if you intend to put him on your mail list for circulation.
Reply
It is always desirable to reply the email of importance within maximum 48 hours. In case the email requires deliberation and/or consultations with others, then it is better to send an interim reply acknowledging the mail and informing the sender how long it will take to give a specific reply. As a sender, if one’s mail has not been replied to, then it will be advisable to write a reminder once on a forward of the previous mail. If even that is not replied to, then it should be ‘cooled off’ until there is a response from the intended recipient. Use discretion while clicking ‘Reply All’ as it has a viral effect increasing stress amongst colleagues.
Forward
One must be very careful while forwarding the email to delete the trail not intended for view by the recipient.
In the next article, we will cover mobile phone etiquette and expected norms for conducting teleconferences and meetings.
It has been my long-standing conviction that India is like a donkey carrying a sack of gold – the donkey does not know what it is carrying but is content to go along with the load on its back. The load of gold is the fantastic treasure – in arts, literature, culture, and some sciences like Ayurvedic medicine – which we have inherited from the days of the splendor that was India.
— Nani Ardeshir Palkhiwala
The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency.
— Bill Gates
Look well to this day. Yesterday is but a dream and tomorrow is only a vision. But today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day
— Francis Gray
I like thinking big. If you’re going to be thinking anything, you might as well think big
— Donald Trump
”India is an institutionalised democracy of long standing. Democratic changes in govern-ment should be seen as a sign of strength. We expect the reform process to continue although the emphasis may change.”
— Sanjeev Sanyal
