Top 10 Ways to Make Me Ignore your Emails

During the 1990’s Internet technologies arrived in the workplace seemingly overnight.  And, just as quickly, email replaced the telephone, the fax, and the business letter as our first choice for communication between professionals.  It offered the speed of phone calls without the sometimes lengthy time commitments that general courtesy required while maintaining the asynchronous exchange of snail mail.  In fact, it worked so well that an avalanche of email followed as we are “kept in the loop” of too many email-based discussions.

Typically cultural norms will develop to define appropriate communications in a given environment.  However, it seems we will have to keep waiting for the business culture to clearly identify and self-enforce the standards for the proper use of email.  So, here we find ourselves, left with a dog’s breakfast of cryptic anagrams - too short and too often left open to interpretation, or messages that read as if a reply is expected from me – yet my address is in the “cc” field.

So, with these issues in mind, I would like to offer my…

Top 10 Ways to Convince Me to Ignore your Future Emails

1. Refuse to treat the message as a business communiqué.
   An email should retain some semblance of our typical old fashion business letter. It’s ok to say “Good morning” or “Good Afternoon” to set a pleasant mood, but following proper structure is a great help: salutation, body, closing and signature.
2. Compose a lengthy message without including a brief summary at the beginning.
   Bold fonts and underlining – used in moderation – can usefully enhance the most relevant parts of the text.
3. Don’t mark an URGENT message with the “urgent mail” icon.
   It might not be a terrible idea to include the word “URGENT” in the subject line either.
4. Use my telepathic abilities to divine your intent.
   If you expect a reply, state that clearly in the message.
5. Substitute your email thread for a meeting.
   Sending an email is useful in order to keep people informed, but whenever there is an issue of high importance, and a decision or approval is required, consider a face-to-face or a virtual meeting. Then use an email to confirm the decision agreed to and the next steps.
6. Copy me in the “To” field.
   The “To” field is reserved for those  recipients for whom the message is required reading and follow-up is expected; if you need two or more people in this field, be sure to make it clear what you expect from each of them.
7. Address me in the “CC” field.
   The “CC” field is for those recipients who will find the message informative, but are not expected to reply.  As before – if you require a response, my address should be found in the “To” field.
8. Make use of the “BCC” field.
   Use of the ‘Big Coward’s Copy’ should be avoided unless there are extenuating circumstances such as a legal constraint.  If a blind copy is sent in parallel, I’ll probably hear about it; however, it is preferable to be totally transparent.
9. Ignore the “Subject” field to test my deductive powers.
   This might be the single most important part of any email.  It can be a great time saver when it is a) completed, and b) provides clear information about the purpose and contents of the message.  This is also a great place to implement that “URGENT” marker.
10. Use the “Automatic Return Receipt”.  Ever.
    This feature should be used only in exceptional cases – its use will quickly irritate your professional colleagues.

What do you think?  Am I out of line?  Are their others that I have missed - what would you add to this list?

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