Just because e-mail is an everyday part of life in the office doesn't mean it's something you don't have to think carefully about. 因为用工作邮箱接收和发送一些不怀好意的或是不合适的信件可能导致各种不堪设想的后果。

Of course, your email gaffes¹ (出丑) are most likely not going to turn you into a global laughingstock. But office email, when used improperly², can undermine your efforts to get ahead in your career. Following are some tips to help you use email to your advantage rather than detriment³.

1. Keep it short and sweet. Email is not a form of communication that lends itself to long missives (信件). If you do send a long e-mail--if you send a product description to a potential client, for instance, or if you send a clarification of departmental policy to your colleagues - make sure you go over the details in person as well as in your email, since relying on your email to communicate all the details often fails. 切记，信的内容一定要分段。读者们可以忍受长长的信件，但没人爱理会那些内容混乱成一团的信。

2. Avoid discussing sensitive information. Despite the seeming harmlessness of email, it is not really private. It's way too simple for the recipient⁴ of your email to forward it to others. And remember that your company can access any email going into or out of your account. Rule number one for emailing sensitive information: 假定你的邮件会被既定接收者以外的任何一个人收到。

Another reason to avoid including sensitive information in e-mail is that you might change your mind about whether you want to let that information be known. Michael Eisner, for instance, once sent financial information about Disney to journalists without realizing it had not yet been publicly released. Rule number two for emailing sensitive information: 三思之后再决定要不要发送。

3. Know when to use email, and when to have a discussion in person or over the phone.
These days people like to use email for all kinds of purposes for which it is usually not ideal. If you want to brainstorm⁵, or to manage or critique others, it's usually best to do so in person - or, failing that, over the phone.

There are a number of reasons for this. For one thing, email does not communicate unspoken nuances the way personal communication does. For another, people are often not as "present" when they read email as they are in a real-time meeting. 仔细想想看：你什么时候用email完全清楚明了的处理过一件事情？最后还不是要直接与人交流？