4 e-mail blunders you wish they’d stop making
November 20, 2008 by Shane BorerPosted in: "Would you want this person in Finance?", Special report, Tech failure
There may be no stop to office e-mail — but commit these blunders, and you’ll have a lot more than a packed in-box to worry about.
There’s at least one — if not more — in every business: someone who’s never learned how to handle e-mail. Forwarded jokes weren’t funny the last time you read them and chain letters may never stop, but there are other mistakes that aren’t so obvious. Here’s what to watch out for:
1. Completing the ‘To’ line first
When you’re composing a new e-mail, where does your cursor go to by default? If it’s the “To” line, you’re a part of the vast majority. Even though most e-mail programs work like this, the names and addresses are actually the last thing you should enter. That way, you have a chance to look over spelling, grammar, etc. — without mistakenly sending a memo to the entire office.
2. Omitting the subject line
If employees are going to read any part of your message, it’s the subject line. Leaving it blank might make a few people open it out of curiosity, but it’s a numbers game. Given the volume of e-mail people receive, the subject line is your one chance to get a message read — at least, to make sure it happens this week.
3. Writing the Great American Novel
Brevity is key. Tracking someone down in person might take time, but e-mail is most effective when your message is short. If you must send something that’s at least a few paragraphs long, keep them under 5 lines long and with an extra space in between each — it’ll cut down on how much of your message people skim through.
4. No John or Jane Hancock
Even though your name’s included in the “From” line of an e-mail, always add your name at the bottom. Creating a formal signature block with your phone and fax number, street address, etc., is the most professional approach, but even informal messages should have your signature at the bottom. Otherwise, your message (and you) can come off as cold to co-workers.
There are more e-mail subtleties than you can shake a stick at, but which ones really get on your nerves? Share your pet peeves — and the best ways to avoid them — in the comments section below.
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Tags: Annoy your co-workers, Communication tips, E-mail, Ettiquette, Office blunders
November 21st, 2008 at 1:17 pm
Not cleaning up a forward. Nobody needs to see 3 pages of names before the message you sent. Also a security issue, spammers and scammers can use the e-mail address for their purposes.
So please tidy before you send.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:36 pm
Chatspeak!
I can hardly believe there are actually people who use chatspeak in work email. (or anywhere for that matter)
If people are too lazy to type out the words “you” or “to” then I don’t want to hear from them.
November 21st, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Hitting “reply all” when you’re trying to tell the original sender something. No one likes to read email arguments or someone being chastized for sending some inappropriate email.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:07 pm
Lisa said it. Hitting “reply all” is the worst especially when the same nonsense goes back and forth between two people.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Sending out emails to a lot of people and then everyone replying with their 2 cents worth. I usually wait until they stop coming in and open the last one. I don’t enjoy meetings when there’s too many people there with their own opinion and the same with emails. I usually only send to department heads; they can share with their people.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I hate seeing an email sent to a large group of people with lots of words spelled incorrectly. Please take the time to hit that “Spell check” tab before you make a major fool of yourself. And never ever type an email all in caps – unless you really do mean to be yelling at the recipient.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:27 pm
I hate reply emails that only say one or two words that clutter up your email inbox. As the Benefits Mgr I send out blast emails to all employees for things like open enrollment & wellness fairs. I don’t need to get 200 replies of “Thank you” or “Got it”.
November 21st, 2008 at 2:41 pm
I absolutely hate the stationary and colored fonts that people are using in their business emails. It is so unprofessional to send out an email on kitty print background with a bolded purple font. ARGGGG
November 21st, 2008 at 3:04 pm
(1) I heartily agree with using the subject line. One of my pet peeves is people who do not use it. In fact, sometimes I put my entire message in the subject line. Then the recipient does not have to even open it. (2) I disagree with always using a signature. I find it “cold” when I receive an internal email with the full business-card signature. I know who the sender is. (3) My company blocks instant messengers, thus forcing us to clog up the e-mail system with short messages. Ugh!
November 21st, 2008 at 3:10 pm
(4) The other side of the “thank you”/”got it” coin is people who turn off their read receipts. Then you never know that they read your email or even “got it.” Ugh!
November 21st, 2008 at 3:32 pm
I absolutely hate when people use a font that is hard to read. Stick with the standard Arial and Times New Roman. No on wants to struggle to read Bradley Hand in bright blue, bolded.
November 21st, 2008 at 5:29 pm
I think it is unnecessary to use a read receipt and I ALWAYS say no I do not want to send a read receipt! Why do you need to know “when” I read the email. When you get my reply, you know I read and received it! If I don’t reply then call me or resend the message.
November 21st, 2008 at 6:29 pm
Unusually full “To” lines irk me. Apparently Some people still need to learn about Blind Copying (BCC) . There’s Nothing like receiving a “mass” email message with half the screen covered with email recipients’ names and addresses because the sender decided to send the message to everyone (and their brother and sister) and doesn’t mind (or is clueless) that they’re advertising that fact to everyone. It gets even better when that message gets forwarded without “cleaning”, like Crystal referred to earlier. Talk about screen clutter!….
November 21st, 2008 at 7:54 pm
All of the above! I agree with Larry about always including a formal name/signature. I will delete mine when batting ideas back and forth. It only takes a second to “clean up”
Not picking and choosing to whom you send/reply (along with a lot of the other peeves) is just plain lazy.
A real peeve of mine is forarding emails that say: seen this to 10 of your friends and somthing great will happen to you … and if you don’t … etc. If the email is cute enough to forward, I clean this off along with the forward list.
November 24th, 2008 at 12:03 am
I appreciate the courtesy of a read receipt. Not all emails call for a response. I don’t need to know “when” an email was read, just “that” it was read. I don’t want to call the recipient or resend the email just because the recipient is too lazy to send a read receipt. As I said, the read receipt is a courtesy. Unfortunately, some people just think about themselves.
November 24th, 2008 at 8:50 am
Great article. I will definetly keep these keys in mind going forward!!
November 24th, 2008 at 9:03 am
When it comes to putting in the subject line, i always leave it blank. the recipitant eventually has to open the email so it doesn’t matter if there is a description or not. however at some companies, it is mandatory that you put in a subject heading.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:29 am
I always put something in the subject line because if I get an email and I don’t know clearly who it is from I delete it if it doesn’t have the subject line filled in. Also I also hate those “send to 10 people in 10 minutes and you’ll have a wonderful life” emails. I enjoy reading the insperations that usually come with those statements but because I don’t forward I will be cursed for life and will end up in the nether world!
November 24th, 2008 at 9:44 am
I also hate being told to ““send to 10 people in 10 minutes and you’ll have a wonderful life”. I have even received some that say that if I believe in God, I will forward to 15 people. How dare the sender expect me to base my beliefs on whether I spam all my contacts?
Also, if you send emails with heart-wrenching stories, check with snopes.com to see if the story is true.
December 4th, 2008 at 10:10 am
I agree wholeheartedly with most of your comments. My biggest pet peeve, like Sandra Kay, is using chatspeak or cell phone texting abbreviations in an email. Please use proper grammer, punctuation, and spelling. I do this in all my emails, even those to family and friends. I, too, abhorr the chain-mail emails that threaten dire consequences if I don’t forward or promise great rewards if I do. I haven’t won the lottery yet, but neither has the sky fallen in!