02/ 02/ 2007
If you're like most small-business owners, you have a morning routine. Perhaps it includes brewing a hot cup of coffee, watering the plants or checking your e-mail inbox. And, if you're like most small-business owners, your inbox is probably full each morning with business inquiries, quick notes from family and friends and perhaps a piece of spam or two.
I bet it wouldn't take you long to remember the last e-mail that you received with "LOL" or "IMHO" or even a :-) in the text. Maybe you even received one just this morning while sipping that coffee. Was it from a friend? A family member? Or was it from a business contact? If it was the latter, shame on them. They just used cyberslang.
Urbanditionary.com defines cyberslang as "… words and/or expressions commonly reserved for use online in chatrooms or instant messengers." Your kids probably know them all very well. But what place do such abbreviations and emoticons have in the e-mail correspondence from your small business? Using them is a common mistake according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers' JobWeb.com.
There are some basic tips to keep in mind when e-mailing a client, customer or anyone who may one day be a business contact of yours:
- Avoid the "smileys" or emoticons. By keeping your e-mail correspondence professional, brief and concise, you avoid the need to follow any sentence with a wink.
- DON'T USE ALL CAPS. This may give the reader on the other end the impression that you're yelling or suggesting urgency.
- Avoid abbreviations like ROFL. Even though you may be "rolling on floor laughing," not everyone understands such slang. Don't make your reader search for your meaning.
- Use correct grammar. Although it may be tempting with today's heavy use of cyberslang to use "ur" instead of "you're," in a professional e-mail this looks lazy and is simply incorrect.
- Spell-check. If using cyberslang or abbreviations has become a habit of yours, using your spell-check feature when sending out a professional e-mail will help you catch misspellings and slang words that you may have overlooked with your own eyes.
E-mail is a great tool. It's fast, easy and cheap, and it lasts forever. But take care in your business correspondence and save the :-D for chatting online with your kids.
