Rule 5: Maintain a pleasant tone.
Attempt to state your message as pleasantly as possible, in order to sound "human," if not kind, even if the message is serious, or the audience unknown. One of the fastest and easiest ways to personalize a message is by adding a salutation and a closing, no matter how informal. A few simple changes can make an otherwise harsh, impersonal, cold message sound warmer and kinder.

Rule 4: Leave the original message below your response.
If the original message is included (always below your response), the original sender can scroll down to re-read the original message. This can help him or her to discern the meaning of your message: to figure out what question you're answering, why you seem to be confused, irritated, or elated.

Rule 3: Use paragraphs & skip lines between each one.
In addition to enhancing readability, your reader(s) will comprehend, absorb, and retain your message longer, if you format your message using paragraphs, as needed, and use adequate "white space," for messages longer than 3 sentences.

Rule 2: Be concise.
The longer your message, the less chance it will get read! Re-read your message once, at the least, just to eliminate wordiness and repetition, especially if you normally use more words than necessary

Rule 1: Proofread your messages before you send them.
Let's face it ... either the sender or the receiver must do the extra work! If the sender is too busy, too disinterested, and/or too inconsiderate to re-read his/her message before sending it, then the receiver is forced to re-read it for clarity ... or worse -- the receiver just gives up and moves along to the next message. Either way, the sender loses!