Asynchronous communication is via methods that do not provide an immediate response, including forum posts and emails. Compared to face-to-face interactions, this form of communication often requires you to pay more attention to what you are saying and how you are saying it. As your body language cannot be read, you as the author must be more careful to clearly articulate your thoughts.

Ensure that your communication is always succinct and to the point but remember to include courteous details. This includes remembering to provide a friendly, professional greeting and sign-off to all of your emails.

Use correct grammar, punctuation, spelling and plain English, but do forgive others for their mistakes. Email and forum posts can be written in haste but maintaining a clarity of grammar and structure will make it easier for your reader to understand your intention. Avoid using CAPITALS as this implies anger or shouting, and don't use any informal abbreviations you may use in communications with family and friends.

Use sarcasm and attempts at humour selectively. Whilst it can be helpful to lighten the mood without your body language, it can be hard to pick out sarcasm, and humour is not universal. If in doubt, avoid this altogether.

When using emails be careful of the distinction between ‘Reply’ and ‘Reply All’ and be careful of forwarding communications. Don’t spam or send repeated emails, make sure you have genuinely tried to find the answer to your query first. Staff and students at the College receive significant volumes of emails, and it can sometimes take a while for others to reply.