How to Not be Taken Seriously

When it comes to your e-mails; perception is reality. Of course, proper e-mail etiquette is more important when it comes to e-mailing for commercial gain, however, it should be as important when communicating via e-mail with anyone, anywhere.

What do you think it says about you when you don't make the basic efforts to communicate with clarity? To take short cuts to not communicate properly with friends and family, who know you well and are probably more forgiving, can leave just as negative of a perception. Aren't they worth the effort?

It behooves you to put your best foot forward no matter who you are sending an e-mail to For example, when e-mailing Web sites for information or assistance, these issues can and will dictate even if you get an answer. Little things that don't take much effort but make the world of difference in regard to looking like someone who is educated and wants to be taken seriously simply by virtue of how they choose to communicate with the written word.

What type of perception do you think folks get about you when you don't capitalize your sentences? When you use poor grammar or incomplete sentence structure? Or your e-mails are filled with typos (in a day where everyone has at least one spell checker on their system)?

These little things can make all the difference in giving that positive impression! If you don't care how you are perceived, then, I guess that will be clear too.