An Educator's Guide to Email Etiquette

March 10, 2022
An Educator's Guide to Email Etiquette

Email etiquette is a vital part of today's modern role of an educator. Adhering to these six basic principles when it comes to email etiquette will certainly help promote and encourage a positive and productive digital working environment.

Appropriate Salutations

Be sure to include proper salutations to those you are sending digital communications to. Take the extra few seconds to address the individual specifically, or include a "Dear", "Hello", "Greetings", or "Hi Team" if addressing a larger audience.

Clear, Direct Subject Line

An individual receiving an email should be able to know the context and content of an email simply by the subject line before opening it. Always be clear and direct with your digital communications so that information does not get lost, misplaced, or misinterpreted in the email shuffle.

Think Twice Before Reply All

There is nothing worse than receiving a mass email, or ongoing mass email thread, when the information only pertains to a specific individual or a small group. The reply all button should always be used sparingly in the professional workplace, and all individuals should carefully consider/check the direction of their digital communications before clicking send.

Professional Email Address

A professional email is called professional for a reason. All digital communications that don't pertain specifically to the workplace should be sent with a personal email account. It is important to have a distinct divide between your personal and professional email addresses and the different digital communications you are sending and receiving.

Be Considerate of Time

Be considerate with your email frequency and timing of emails. Consider sending one email with multiple ideas, rather than separate emails for your different thoughts and questions. It is also ideal to try and respect regular work hours and avoid sending work related emails that someone might be tempted to respond to after hours.

Take a Second Read

As educators we know that a well placed piece of punctuation can make a huge difference in the message we are trying to convey to others. Ensure that you are not in such a rush to hit send that you do not take the time to give your digital communication a second read over. You will often find that you may want to adjust your words, your tone, or your request before clicking send.


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Take a look at our other articles here. To learn how UpSavvy can help solve digital citizenship at your school district check out UpSavvy.com.

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