Are You Perceived as Terse?

It is so easy to come off as blunt, terse or demanding if you do not take the extra little effort to make sure you are perceived as cordial. Especially when it comes your day-to-day business activities it is so very important to ensure that you present yourself as courteous and professional in your e-mail communications.

A simple greeting at the beginning of every e-mail will help you to accomplish this. Just add a Hello, (name) or Hi, (name) and your e-mail will be taken in a completely different light. If you think about it, you don't just pick up the phone and start talking without doing the same.

When you start an e-mail with a question or demand, without that greeting softening or framing your request, your e-mail can be perceived as bossy or demanding. Have a comment that states a point of view or opinion and without that oh-so-important greeting; you can come off as terse.

Every e-mail you send, whether it be personal or professional, should always begin with a proper greeting fitting of the tone you want to relay and formality that is required. By not making this extra effort, the negative impact of your requests or comments could cause those you communicate with to cringe when they see your name in their inbox.

And wouldn't that be a shame when you can avoid such a reaction by just including a nice greeting?