In a business writing seminar I led last week, I heard two good suggestions for email efficiency, along with one tale of caution:
Suggestion 1: When you have a thread of email and add a new person to it, explain to the others why you have added the new person. For example, if you add your manager to keep him or her informed, write:
I have copied Gail Phillips, my manager, on this email because she would like to be aware of our progress. Please copy her on your responses.Suggestion 2: When you write to a large group, list people’s names on the Bcc (blind copy) line. That way, the list of names won’t take up the entire screen (or most of the page if readers print your message).
Tale of caution: Think twice, then think again about sending a blind copy to someone who should probably not receive the information. (If you feel a touch of guilt or doubt about the blind copy, don’t send it.) An attendee at last week’s writing class (I will call him Joel) reported that a friend used to copy him regularly on information he should not be reading. Then one day the friend forgot it was a blind copy and wrote, “Mary, please handle this action item. . . . Kaj, please take care of this. . . . Joel, this is FYI, as usual.” That is how everyone found out Joel was receiving the information. According to Joel, both he and his friend learned a risky, embarrassing lesson.
Lynn