A few days ago I came across an article  suggesting ways to make email more efficient and less time-consuming.  Sound like a good idea? Who doesn’t want to spend fewer hours sorting through email, trying to decide which to open first, what to do next and when?  The author of this particular article suggested that to abbreviate the process you could simply compress the entire message into the subject line. Then you add the acronym “EOM” at the end of the line. An example might be, “Tomorrow’s Book Festival Cancelled. EOM”  There you are. Done in seconds.  In case you don’t know, “EOM” stands for “End of Message.”  In my opinion “EOM” signifies “End of Manners.”

I have a couple of issues with sending a message like this.  While I totally  agree that email should be brief and to the point, and I stress that point during my business etiquette courses, I believe this suggestion takes email etiquette to a new low. Putting the message in the subject line might be fine between friends, but it is not appropriate for business email.

In my courses on email etiquette I remind the participants that email represents them professionally the same as the handshake they offer, the clothes they wear and the greeting on their voice mail.  You are sending email, not a text message.

1. Write a pertinent subject line such as ‘Tomorrow’s Book Festival Cancelled.’”
2. Begin with a greeting to the person or persons to whom you are sending the message.
3. In the body of the email you might say, “Tomorrow’s book festival cancelled. We will get back to you later with more details. In the meantime, call me if you have any questions.”
4. Use a professional closing, your name and your contact information.
5. Avoid acronyms. Not everyone knows what “EOM” stands for.

It may take a few minutes longer to type that message, but it shows respect for your recipients and makes you look like a polished professional, not some high school sophomore.

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