The 13 sins of email and easy mistakes to avoid
Email is like electricity. It is here to stay and is very much a boring ‘utility’. Nobody gets overly excited about sending or receiving emails. Unless of course, the content of an email is amazingly fabulous news…. a new client win, a positive reply from a journalist, an influencer endorsement, recognition from a client, thanks and praise for hard work, a salary rise, oh or a lotto win. You get the picture.
The stark reality is that most emails do not fall into these wonderful categories. Email is a torrid flow and there are many simple things we can all do to make it easier to navigate. The one thing I tell my team all the time is; “ask yourself, do you need to send an email?”
Maybe a call, a WhatsApp or a text will suffice. Either way, we ought to cut down on the volume of email and make the ones we do send more meaningful for the recipients. Ultimately, we will all benefit from less time consumed from our busy days in typing them and also reading them.
Here are thirteen deadly sins of emails. Things that I detest.
Things to think about before hitting SEND.
Over-Copying In
Do all of the recipients really need to know what I am about to tell them? Only send an email to the people who the information within is pertinent to.
Randomised Replying
The act of replying to one email about the content of another. This is just nuts and is a sure route to causing confusion and missed information. Reply to email conversations in a logical manner and address every point/question within an email. If there are four questions give four clear answers.
Vague Email Subjects
The email subject is there for a reason. TO TELL THE RECIPIENT WHAT THE EMAIL IS ABOUT. It’s really not brain surgery. If the email is date / time specific then it makes sense to reference the date within the subject. Use subjects to help you. Be to the point and on point.
Subject: CEO INPUT NEEDED / WFH feature in The Sunday Times / DEADLINE 12noon 04/05
Holding Emails
Whoever invented the concept of a ‘holding email’ needs a serious talking to. Nobody wants to read: “Thanks for your email, we are working on it and will update you in due course”. Get on with the job like the professional you are, get shit done and send a proper update.
Tardy Omissions
Think about what you are conveying…. Think about 100% of the picture, not 90%. Nobody likes 90% effort. If you are setting up a meeting suggest a date, a time and a venue address. Be specific and you will get a faster response. Give a link to the venue. Give directions. Give instructions.
Urgent V Important
Marking an email as ‘urgent’ puts a big rd flag in the recipient’s inbox. It usually stops what they are doing whilst they check the urgency of its content. Be wary of over-flagging. What you think is ‘important’ is certainly not necessarily ‘urgent’ for the recipient.
Next Steps
What is the outcome you want from the email? If there is no need for a response then let the recipient know…. “This is just FYI”. Likewise, if you need or expect a response say so.
Missing Manners
Manners cost nothing. Always start with an introduction and always sign off. There’s no need for a War & Peace intro and ending to every message and you don’t need to ask how the recipient is every time you email them. The smallest personal touch is so obvious and makes the content of the message more human and more likely to get a favourable response. “Good morning” and “I look forward to hearing your thoughts”.
Delays in Responses
It is not unreasonable to expect an employee to have read and responded to all important client emails when they finish work for the day. Likewise emails from their managers. In most industries clients pay the wages and keeping them sweet is a good recipe for success - part of this is valuing them and their business. Late responses look bad and non-responses are never acceptable. Ghosting is not good practice for workplace emails.
Old News Is Dead News
Reply to the most recent emails in our inbox first - as this will naturally sort out a lot of the older ones. Use sort tools and filter tools to quickly sift through and use the DELETE button. If you need to file something save it to your server (where it will be backed up and accessible in a jiffy).
Secret Squirrels
If you are tempted to BCC a recipient - ask yourself why can’t they be an open recipient? I’ve seen the BCC function cause no end of issues in big companies where information flow has been manipulated for nothing more than internal politics. Using BCC leads to a shroud of secrecy. It probably isn’t really necessary if you think about the wording you use and who needs to know the message content. Rise above it and be open, transparent and gracious to everyone.
Annual Leave Emailers
You are on annual leave. NOT WORKING. Do a thorough handover before you go and put your OOO on. Simple. Nothing is that important that you need to ‘check in’ from the beach. It’s annoying to colleagues stuck in the office and you won’t ever have the full picture. Resist the temptation, check-out and focus on taking time off.
Life Essays
FFS. Get to the point. Short and sweet, with facts, information and next steps. That is all anybody really wants. Not a running commentary on your weekend away or your most recent bake.
What annoys you about work email etiquette the most? Any tips for making email work for you?
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