{"id":11338,"date":"2016-09-23T14:20:37","date_gmt":"2016-09-23T18:20:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=11338"},"modified":"2023-11-03T11:31:40","modified_gmt":"2023-11-03T15:31:40","slug":"email-etiquettes-how-to-email-your-professors-boss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/email-etiquettes-how-to-email-your-professors-boss\/","title":{"rendered":"Email Etiquettes: How to Email Your Professors or Boss Without Annoying Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I am no professor (or boss), but I do get countless emails from high school students whom I oversee at my volunteer work. As a supervisor, one of my key responsibilities is communicating with the high school volunteers throughout the week, via email. Over time, I have&nbsp;become &#8211;<em>&nbsp;involuntarily but naturally &#8211;<\/em>&nbsp;the point person for questions, concerns, and complaints regarding the volunteer work&nbsp;and the organization.&nbsp;Before I knew it,&nbsp;I was&nbsp;receiving&nbsp;emails not only&nbsp;from the volunteers I oversee,&nbsp;but also&nbsp;from outsiders with&nbsp;inquiries&nbsp;(<em>see #3 below about emailing someone you\u2019ve never had an interaction with before<\/em>). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>After three&nbsp;years of &#8220;back and forths,&#8221; I have come to the conclusion&nbsp;that this well-intentioned young generation can definitely use some help in the department of email etiquettes. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But high school students aren\u2019t the only ones who fail to use proper email etiquettes. Many college students, and recent grads, are equally clueless (and perhaps seen as more &#8220;unprofessional&#8221; because they are expected to know better) when it comes to emailing their professors and higher-ups.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">My hope for anyone reading this article is that they would learn and put into practice these crucial&nbsp;email etiquettes and their emails get&nbsp;taken seriously.&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>Writing a good email is a MUST&nbsp;in college and in the workplace alike, so take heed!<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>*This article is tailored towards college students writing to professors, but you can swap out &#8220;professors&#8221; with &#8220;bosses&#8221; if you are working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><b>1. Address your professor in a professional way<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>\u201cDear Professor [Last Name]\u201d would be a good starting point.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If you\u2019ve had an interaction with the professor before, it\u2019s probably safe to say \u201cHi Professor [Last Name]\u201d but it\u2019s probably never a good idea to say \u201cHey\u201d as a salutation, no matter how \u201cclose\u201d you are to the professor. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">+ <span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Some things to consider<\/span>:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You can address the professor as Dr. if they have a PhD, but \u201cprofessor\u201d is probably your safest bet, since some of them don\u2019t want to be addressed as \u201cdoctor.\u201d <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Avoid saying \u201cMrs.\u201d or \u201cMiss\u201d or \u201cMr.\u201d because regardless of your intent, that could be offensive or create unnecessary awkwardness. Besides, this is college we\u2019re talking about &#8211; we refer to them as \u201cprofessors.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Don\u2019t address them by their first names unless they explicitly give you permission to do so. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><b>Spell the professor\u2019s name correctly.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Write it <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">exactly<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> as it appears on the syllabus &#8211; check twice.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:29px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n<p>[adthrive-in-post-video-player video-id=&#8221;BAdeqsrl&#8221; upload-date=&#8221;2023-11-03T15:27:29.000Z&#8221; name=&#8221;Email Etiquette When Writing to Professors and Teachers&#8221; description=&#8221;TUN sits down with Vicki Lavendol, an instructor at the University of Central Florida\u2019s Rosen College of Hospitality Management, to discuss the dos and don\u2019ts when emailing professors and teachers.&#8221; player-type=&#8221;static&#8221;]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:29px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><b>2. Acknowledge your professor as an individual<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">You have a specific reason for emailing your professor, I get that. But don\u2019t jump straight to your point, asking or requesting something from them. Recognize that they too, have personal lives outside of their academia&#8211; they are not their roles. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether genuine or not (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">although sincerity always shows<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">), greet your professor and acknowledge them as an individual. You can say something like&nbsp;\u201cI hope you had a great weekend!\u201d Adding this simple sentence can make a huge difference in the response you get.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><b>3. Introduce yourself<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><b>Really, please do. <\/b>In my personal experience, the most frustrating email&nbsp;I&#8217;ve received&nbsp;was one&nbsp;where the&nbsp;person failed to&nbsp;introduce herself (<em>I had no idea who she was<\/em>) and jumped straight to &#8220;the point,&#8221; already breaking rules #1-#3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><span style=\"color: #808080;\">I want to volunteer but I don&#8217;t know how.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>That was the email&nbsp;I got in my (personal<em>)<\/em> inbox.&nbsp;No greetings, no introduction, no courtesy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As I read the email, which literally took me 2 seconds, I thought to myself: <em>I don&#8217;t know who you are, how you got my email, and why you think I should&nbsp;grant you your request, if, again, I do not even know you.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But&nbsp;putting&nbsp;the lack of professionalism (and my annoyance) aside, I replied back with all the details on&nbsp;how she can&nbsp;apply to become a volunteer (<em>which she could have easily found on the website &#8211; see #4 below<\/em>), only to get an equally unprofessional 9-word reply: &#8220;Oh, sorry. I actually don&#8217;t think I can volunteer.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hope I don&#8217;t have to elaborate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the same way, if you&#8217;re a student,&nbsp;don\u2019t assume that the professor knows you. And more importantly, don\u2019t make the professor go out of his\/her way to find out who you are. You should be the one providing all the necessary information, like your student identification number, class section, course number, etc.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is especially important if you are emailing your professor for the first time, or if you&#8217;ve never had an interaction with him\/her&nbsp;before.&nbsp;If you have, it&#8217;s still a good idea to remind the professor&nbsp;&#8211; for instance, you could say, \u201cI\u2019m the girl who stayed after class to ask you about so and so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><b>4. Explain why you are writing<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Now&#8217;s finally the time to reveal your real reason for writing. <em>Do you need to make an appointment to see the professor outside of his office hours?<\/em> <em>Do you have a conflicted exam schedule?<\/em> Whatever it is, make it succinct and straightforward, but be courteous. Don\u2019t beat around the bush, don\u2019t make&nbsp;excuses, and don\u2019t provide&nbsp;excessive details. Your professor cares about what he\/she can do for you, not <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">why<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> they <em>should<\/em> do something for you (they don&#8217;t have to, most likely). <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">BEFORE YOU SEND THAT EMAIL, ask yourself these questions<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a) Is the information I am seeking already in the syllabus?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">b) Can a classmate explain or solve this problem for me?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">c) Is the professor actually the only person who can answer my question or solve my problem?<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><b>5. Include a (polite) call to action<\/b><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Call-to-actions are wonderful, not only in the world of sales and marketing, but also in our everyday lives. Call-to-actions are not commands, but requests. Before you end your email, rephrase or highlight your request(s) and ask the professor if he\/she could address the issue(s) you brought up. You can do this by saying something like, \u201cI would very much appreciate if you could assist me with [issue]\u201d or \u201cPlease let me know when the best time is for you &#8211; I would love to talk to you in person.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>6. Thank the professor<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This one is pretty obvious, but students forget to do this all the time!&nbsp;As you close off your email, thank the professor for taking the time to read your email. It&#8217;s a&nbsp;common courtesy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span style=\"color: #333333;\"><strong>7. Follow up, but don&#8217;t be demanding<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you don&#8217;t get a response, wait. And wait some more (if it&#8217;s not super urgent). After you did &#8220;enough&#8221; waiting, follow up gently. Don&#8217;t&nbsp;blame the professor for ignoring you or forgetting to respond&nbsp;&#8211; the professor might have had more pressing and urgent matters to take care of, or your email might have unintentionally gotten buried under other emails.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you send your follow up email, forward your original email, but still remind the professor what your original request was. And then simply let him\/her know that you are still waiting for a reply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>[divider]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That&#8217;s it! If you&#8217;ve followed these 7 steps, you&#8217;ve done all that you can (or the bare minimum).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Being able to write a good, professional email is not a mere advantage in college, but a necessity. You will be emailing professors, classmates, bosses, and even friends for the rest of your life, so you might as well learn to do it properly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Please please please, before you press that &#8220;send&#8221; button, make sure you are being clear in your communication and courteous in your manner.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p>[divider]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<strong><a title=\"What I Learned after Reviewing Hundreds of Scholarship Applications (+5 Pro Tips)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/scholarship-applications-pro-tips\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">What I Learned after Reviewing Hundreds of Scholarship Applications (+5 Pro Tips)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I am no professor (or boss), but I do get countless emails from high school students whom I oversee at my volunteer work. As a supervisor, one of my key responsibilities is communicating with the high school volunteers throughout the week, via email. Over time, I have&nbsp;become &#8211;&nbsp;involuntarily but naturally &#8211;&nbsp;the point person for questions, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":28307,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,586,228],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11338","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student-life","category-school-hacks","category-student-guide"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/email.jpg",830,533,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/email-224x144.jpg",224,144,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/email-300x193.jpg",300,193,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/email.jpg",830,533,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/email.jpg",830,533,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/email.jpg",830,533,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/email.jpg",830,533,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Yoora Park","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/author\/yoora\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"I am no professor (or boss), but I do get countless emails from high school students whom I oversee at my volunteer work. As a supervisor, one of my key responsibilities is communicating with the high school volunteers throughout the week, via email. Over time, I have&nbsp;become &#8211;&nbsp;involuntarily but naturally &#8211;&nbsp;the point person for questions,&hellip;","featured_media_src_url":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/email.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11338","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11338"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11338\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11338"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11338"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11338"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}