E-mail viruses make front-page newspaper headlines ~ They cost decent computer users a lot of money - they waste our time and energy and they cause unimaginable distress to people all over the world.

Could anything be worse?

What about the damage that people are causing to themselves every day by taking e-mail for granted? The familiarity and convenience of e-mail is resulting in sloppy, careless habits that could ruin your business and your reputation just as surely as any e-mail virus.

Electronic mail is having a phenomenal effect on the way we communicate. E-mail is not just a quick, easy and relatively cheap way to keep in touch with family and friends. It has also become an essential tool in business, a fundamental part of the way in which we work.

However the explosive growth of e-mail has created some problems, mainly because there have never been any guidelines on how to compose e-mail messages, no definitive guide to common standards and expectations among writers of e-mail. Consequently systems are being overloaded, communication is rampant, reputations are being damaged, feelings are being hurt and time is being wasted.

One of the main advantages of e-mail is speed, but the pressure of coping with an ever-increasing mailbox is adding to the pressures people already face. This is resulting in messages being sent without much thought or planning, with important details missing, with spelling and punctuation errors, and with abbreviations that some people don't like and others simply don't understand. Some messages look like they are written in code! And people are even neglecting the common courtesies of a greeting and sign-off just for the sake of speed!

High on the list of annoyances when I did some research for my book Guide to Effective E-mail, was unfriendly tone. Emotions are hard to convey in e-mails, and some people type out exactly what they would say without thinking of the tone of voice that would be used to signal their emotions. With e-mail all we have are words. Without the right tone misunderstandings could easily happen, or you could offend and perhaps lose an important business contact - or even friend! Good writers learn to choose their words very carefully and get the tone just right.

E-mail and information overload is another serious problem, with some managers receiving hundreds of messages every day. But if we are suffering from overflowing inboxes, how much of it is self-inflicted? Has it become too easy to send messages to lots of people just because you can? We must learn to use e-mail more thoughtfully by recognising when we should and should not send messages. Do you really need to send all those CC, BCC and FWD copies? If you receive lots of messages that you don't really need to see, tell the authors so that it doesn't happen again. And tell your friends not to send those jokes and personal messages to your work e-mail address.

Then there's that prolonged e-mail exchange that lasts for days - wouldn't it be better to pick up the phone? E-mail overload is contributing to a decline in oral communication skills - people send e-mails to the person in the next office rather than walk a few steps! So please remember that it's good to talk and don't let e-mail result in the death of conversation.

As more people use e-mail sloppy work is becoming a major annoyance. People are receiving poorly formatted messages in one continuous paragraph, poorly structured messages that are not specific in the response required, messages written all in capitals (equivalent to SHOUTING) or all in lower case, and of course messages with poor grammar, spelling and punctuation.

When I was doing some research for my book Guide to Effective E-mail, a friend of mine said:

"When I receive a message that has lots of mistakes - spelling errors, punctuation, grammar - I think the reader has no respect for me because he/she couldn't take just one minute to check it through before hitting 'send''."

Ricky Lien, website mindsetmedia.com.sg

I completely agree! The Internet has made it possible for us to communicate with people from all over the world. The only way those people can form an opinion of us is by looking at the way we write! Your credibility could be ruined with one swift click of the 'send' button!

Today's way of conducting business is very informal so that's what we should aim for in our business writing too - natural, relaxed, friendly, conversational. The only place for standard boring overused clichés like Please find attached herewith, I am writing to inform you, Please be advised, I should be grateful if you would kindly, is the recycle bin! Busy businessmen and women haven't got time to plough through loads of old-fashioned, long-winded jargon.

Nor should they be subjected to abbreviated, coded, sloppy messages that are full of errors! We should take just as much care in composing e-mail messages as we should with formal letters, memos or faxes. We should use short words and simple expressions, short sentences and short paragraphs that are clear and concise but still courteous. We should take pride in composing effective messages that are structured logically. Most of all we should identify with our readers, appreciate their feelings, and use words they will understand, written in an appropriate tone.

If you want to improve your electronic rapport with customers and colleagues, if you want to enhance your credibility and your reputation as well as your productivity, remember - it's not a computer you are talking to - it's a real live human being!

As one contributor to my book "Guide to Effective E-mail" is quoted as saying, "Don't let your e-mail turn into an e-NAIL in your business coffin."

www.shirleytaylor.com