How to Write a Smashing E-Mail: Part Six

Use a size 12 font, especially when writing to anyone over the age of 40. You don’t want people squinting in order to decipher your text. If you know your recipient well and that person uses a size 10, it’s fine to reply in the same fashion. But size 12 is standard and you can be assured that most people will be able to read it without any difficulty.

And try not to be cutesy unless you’re writing to your best friend. Stay away from font colors like pink and purple. The easiest font to read is black. Emoticons are individual. Some people use them all the time and others never use them. By and large, you don’t want to include emoticons in work-related notes; the same is true for acronyms like LOL or ROFL. Exceptions can always be made when you know your colleague or your boss well, and the situation seems to warrant a funny face.

Sigrid Macdonald is a book coach, an editor, and the author of three books, including the newly released Be Your Own Editor, available on Lulu or on Amazon in paperback, and on Kindle.