Email Etiquette & Addressing an Envelope

Today is about learning a lost art.  How to write a professional email! And how to address an envelope! Emphasize the importance of proofreading before sending!  Send your mentor an email through the LMS as practice.

 

Please refer to the images above!

HOW TO ADDRESS AN ENVELOPE

With this activity, the mentees get to send an actual Thank YOU card to a Toyota Executive!  

The facilitator will hand out an envelope and paper to each mentee so they can hand write a thank you letter and address the envelope.  Just use the Toyota HQ address.

Show them where to put a stamp and a return address label.  Your facilitator will be providing a fake stamp and the student should hand write the return address label.  The return address label can be their name at Pinkston High School.  (Obviously we won’t need a real stamp for this activity since we won’t be actually mailing a letter)

Let’s GET STARTED!!!!  How exciting!!

• Sometimes it is more appropriate to send a letter via mail, than an email. It is important to know how to correctly address an envelope to ensure that your letter/package gets delivered to its destination.
• When might you need to mail something?

• “Thank you” letters (for birthday present, graduation gift, etc.)
• Some schools may require you to mail your application or supplemental materials (letter of recommendation, transcript, etc.)
• Invitations (to a birthday party, graduation party, surprise party, etc.)

What is the correct format? [See Image 2 at the top!]

• Return Address:

• This is your address, or the address where the mail is coming from

• For example, if your teacher is mailing a letter of recommendation to your school, he/she would put the school’s address as the return address.
  

[Your Name]

[Street Address, Apt. #]

[City, State, Zip Code]

• Mailing Address:

• This is the address where you are sending the mail

• [Person’s name you are sending mail to]

[His/her Street Address, Apt. #]

[City, State, Zip Code]

• If you are sending mail to someone at a company (or a college), you would include the following:

[Person’s name you are sending mail to]
[Person’s job title or the name of the department they work in]

[Company (or college) name]

[Street Address (plus office # or Suite #)]

[City, State, Zip Code]

• Stamp

• The stamp should be placed in the upper right hand corner of the envelope
• Postage rates and stamp requirements vary depending on the size and weight of the item you are mailing

• Currently, to mail a regular sized letter, you would need a $0.47 stamp
• http://www.stamps.com/usps/current-postage-rates/
• You can buy stamps that are worth different amounts, as the postage rates change

• Other Tips

• Use black ink
• Print legibly- the Postal Service recommends writing in all capital letters when addressing envelopes

PROFESSIONAL EMAIL ETIQUETTE

Do………

• Use proper spelling, grammar, and punctuation. (No text message slang)
• Use a relevant subject line that identifies the purpose of your email
• Think about the content of your message before sending it. If someone else saw what you wrote, would they be offended? Would you regret writing something in there? If you question it, do not send it.
• Be professional. Address adults with their current title, Ms., Mrs., Mr., Dr., Professor, etc. (Always refer to all of your college professors as Professor ‘Smith’)
• Consider to whom you are writing. Emailing your professor calls for more professionalism than emailing your friend.
• Always sign your name at the end of every email. Even though your email address may have your name in it, the end of the email needs your signature as well. And always sign your email with your given name (John Smith), not your nickname.
• Choose an email address that is easy to identify. Having your name in your email is the best bet!
• Be brief in your emails. People get so many emails every day that a long, drawn out email, becomes tedious and annoying. Be Brief, Be Professional, Be Polite.
• Always use spell check! Re-read the email before sending to see if you left out any letters or words that spell check didn’t pick up. (I thank for time yesterday) should be (I thank you for your time yesterday)

Don’t…………..

• Don’t write an email as you would a text message.
• Don’t leave a subject line blank or use an irrelevant greeting such as “Hi”
• Don’t write an email if you are angry or upset. You may say something you will regret and you cannot unSend an email. Always wait 24 hours to send anything when you are angry. You may feel differently in the morning.
• Don’t leave out a salutation. Always include a greeting line, such as, “Dear Professor Smith,”
• Don’t type in all capitals. IT IS CONSIDERED SHOUTING.
• Don’t forward chain emails, spam, irrelevant messages, jokes, etc., to large groups of people. Especially at work.
• Don’t use bright font when writing an email. Keep it black or dark blue so it is easy to read.
• Don’t create an inappropriate email address. You are about to set foot in a competitive environment. You need to make a good first impression. Email can sometimes be a first impression. If your email looks like… (sexymama2524@whatever.com) you will not stand out in a good way.
• Don’t overuse punctuation!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Do not send anything sexual or irresponsible. Always make sure you are in guidelines with school code, and when get into the corporate world, make sure you adhere to your work code.

Always remember that anything you send can be forwarded to anyone at any time. Sometimes it is better to pick up the phone and make a phone call.

SAMPLE EMAILS

Sample Email #1
1. What are two Do’s of email etiquette that this writer follows?[See Image 3 at the top!]

a
b

2. What are two Don’ts of email etiquette that this writer ignores?

a
b

3. What are two suggestions you have for this writer?

a
b

Sample Email #2 [See Image 4 at the top!]

1. What are two Do’s of email etiquette that this writer follows?

a
b

2. What are two Don’ts of email etiquette that this writer ignores?

a
b

3. What are two suggestions you have for this writer?

a
b

Sample Email #3
1. What are two Do’s of email etiquette that this writer follows? [See Image 5 at the top!]

a
b

2. What are two Don’ts of email etiquette that this writer ignores?

a
b

3. What are two suggestions you have for this writer?

a
b

Now it is your turn!

Mentee: Write your mentor an email through the LMS using the tips you learned above!