I have a lot of pet peeves. I am old and I am entitled. Lately, one of the things that have been irritating me is the way some people use email. Almost everyone is capable of emailing. It is fast, inexpensive, and efficient. For those reasons, email has become the default way to pass information among people.
But not everyone follows proper protocol when addressing emails to another party. Protocol? You say. What do you mean? Are you implying there are rules for using email?
While there are many rules for proper email practice, the one most often abused is sending emails that should be directed to one party, but are sent to a group of other people that may not be part of the conversation.
Imagine if every time you started a new conversation with someone you stood up and spoke to the entire room or audience. Even worse, what if everyone in earshot began responding, even if you were not speaking to them?
Addressing an email properly will help ensure that the people that need the information take priority over those that do not. Emails should be addressed in a hierarchical order.
The To: address: The simplest to understand. Add the email address of the person(s) you are trying to converse with.
Cc: or carbon copy: If you’d like to send a copy of the message to someone else who is not required to read or respond, then the Cc address makes it easy. In business, Ccing allows you to keep parties not directly involved in the communique to stay updated.
Bcc: or blind carbon copy: Make use of the Bcc, or blind carbon copy to send a copy of your email to an interested party without revealing their email information to the other parties.
Why is the proper use of email addressing so important? Because it allows senders and receivers to know who has originated the email in question and is particularly important when replying. So often I see emails sent to multiple parties. Then when more than one party replies it triggers a chain of emails that makes it difficult to keep in sync.
It is annoying when someone sends an email addressed to ten people without regard for who is in the conversation. It ends up initiating a series of replies that borders on chaos.
The attached image shows a reply to a properly formatted email. Notice that the sender and receiver are the only ones in the two and from fields. The other addressees are in the Cc: field, indicating that they have been tagged only as a courtesy. The Bcc: address does not show up at all.
Using Cc:, and Bcc: properly will keep the email addresses in proper order and reduce confusion.
The problem is that most people have never been taught how to email. They simply figured it out on their own and never gave a second thought to the proper use of addressing.
When the judge tells you to “approach the bench,” it is because he wants to consult only with the parties in question. He does not ask the entire courtroom to approach the bench. So, if you have not been asked to approach, stay in your seat.
Joe Domino is a Realtor® serving the Phoenix/Scottsdale area. Need more information? Or to Search for your next home, visit www.Scottsdale-AZHomes.com
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