Keep it professional

Be aware of the effect that your speech and written communication has on your professional relationships.

It is now generally accepted that email is a more casual style of communication than a letter, but that does not mean that your work emails should be indistinguishable from your personal emails!

Listed below are 5 of the most common crimes against professionality:

Using text speak in an email

"Thks," "pls," "tmrw", "cu," etc. None of these abbreviations are suitable for professional communication. At best you risk being misunderstood by a client who is unfamiliar with these terms, and at worst you risk being written off as unprofessional or immature. Such terms are too casual for business correspondence, and imply a lack of respect and over familiarity toward the recipient. Do not use - even if your client uses these terms when writing to you.

Spelling mistakes / grammatical anomalies in emails

You may think that as long as your point is communicated, then precise spelling and punctuation is not necessary. Wrong! The recipient of your email needs to have faith in your credibility and ability to the job, and they need to understand what you are trying to say. Poor spelling and punctuation may cause someone to pass judgment about your academic background, intelligence, and precision. It can also mean the difference between someone understanding or not understanding your point!

Emails lacking in content

"Yep," "Done," "Cheers," etc. These are not such a problem when emailing your colleague in reply to a quick query. They become more of a problem when sent out of your office to a client.

Remember that every email is a document that exists indefinitely from the moment you hit 'send'. Every email is a chance to represent yourself and your company. These casual emails may be re-read later when the recipient is trying to find a piece of information. E.g., "Did Skye Recruitment finalise that interview for me? I've got an email saying 'yep' - what does that refer to?"

If you take the time to write a slightly more useful message (e.g., "Yes, I have confirmed for John X to meet you at your offices at 2pm tomorrow") then you are not only sending a message that will have meaning if referred to in future, but you are also reiterating what you have done for the recipient.

Pet names

"Mate," "Darl," "Doll,", "Honey," "Love," etc. In a nutshell - don't. These endearments can be too familiar for the business world, and many people find them offensive and/or patronising. Again, they can also imply a lack of respect for the other person, and have the potential for being interpreted as unprofessional and/ or sexist.

Your personal life

If your client relationship has evolved to the point at which you are discussing the weekend / families/ personal information then you are doing a good job of building rapport. However, do not take this too far, and be mindful of the point at which relationship-building chatter turns into something that could make your client lose respect for you. Hearing about your tyrannical boss or 'messy weekend' may be something your client laughs along with, but will it make them respect your skills as a professional?

To sum up

Don't ever forget that you are a professional, selling professional services. That does not mean you can't have a joke with a client, or send a light-hearted email. Your correspondence does not have to be stifling and stuffy. But remember who you are talking to, and keep your communication polite and respectful. If your bank sent you an email saying "Hey mate, u owe us $20k for ur credit card, thks" you might not feel reassured that your money is in the safest hands! Don't assume your clients will feel any differently about you.