Comments on: 11 email mistakes you really shouldn’t make

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Wed, 04 May 2016 13:17:00 +0000

In reply to Fawzi Al Musallam. Thanks for your extra suggestions, Fawzi. They are really good ones -- particularly #1, about not accidentally forwarding information that should not be shared.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Wed, 04 May 2016 13:16:00 +0000

In reply to Melissa. We totally agree!

By: Fawzi Al Musallam

Fawzi Al Musallam — Wed, 04 May 2016 07:32:00 +0000

What you mention looks, sounds very simple yet very important to know and to practice. It deos make a big difference and in times can save a lot time .
I would like to add a couple of them
1- Be careful when you forward an email there might be some information or recepients that should not be part of the material forwarded.
2- When copying and pasting from other email some times there is a color change in the fonts and simple editing will do the job, avoiding being direspectful to the person o nthe other end.
3- Avoid trying to be funny or sense of humor that some might not be able to understand or can take it offensively.

Thank you Daphne

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 18:03:00 +0000

In reply to Roger G. REALLY great tip, Roger. Wish I'd spoken with you before I wrote this column!!

By: Roger G

Roger G — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 17:45:00 +0000

Some of my most regrettable mistakes occurred when what I was composing inadvertently got away from me before I intended to actually send my reply.

Now, on an important issue that calls for delicate handling, I delete the recipient’s email address before I begin composing my response. Only after I am sure that my reply is exactly as I intended do I then reinsert the recipient’s email address and press “Send.”

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 15:01:00 +0000

In reply to Thomas S. Bremer. GREAT suggestions, Thomas. Having different signatures for different contexts is really smart. And I agree with you re: quotes. They are particularly wrong-headed for business emails.

By: Thomas S. Bremer

Thomas S. Bremer — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 03:19:00 +0000

I haven’t read all of the comments, so I apologize if I am repeating what’s been said. Pay attention to your signature. I keep 4 or 5 different signatures for different contexts; my email program allows me to easily choose between the different signatures. Also avoid quotations in your signature, especially those of a religious, political, or other slant. Not everyone cares to know your ideological views.

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 00:54:00 +0000

In reply to KSW. You're very welcome!

By: Daphne Gray-Grant

Daphne Gray-Grant — Thu, 28 Apr 2016 00:53:00 +0000

In reply to Christine Junge. If your boss wants to CC the world, don't play in to that dysfunction! Just reply to the person who emailed you. If they want to copy others, they can do it easily enough.

By: Christine Junge

Christine Junge — Wed, 27 Apr 2016 22:38:00 +0000

I have a question on this–my new(ish) workplace seems to have the culture of cc’ing lots of people on emails. I’ve always been of the same belief as you–keep cc’ing to a minimum. But if your boss writes to you and 10 other people (either in the “to” field or in the “cc” field–people seem to use them interchangeably), I feel a certain pressure to reply all. Maybe the boss knows these people need to know about this topic for some reason that I don’t understand. This person is too busy to approach with this type of question directly…. I’ve just been replying all, since I don’t understand why the others would be cc’ed in the first place, and therefore can’t really judge if I should take them off the reply. Hope that makes sense.