[4 minutes to read]
A senior executive in an international corporation confided to a fellow manager that he was starting to use Viagra. Some weeks later, this executive wrote an email to a large swath of the company’s employees. His friend hit Reply and wrote, “So, how are those little blue pills working out for you?” I have never seen Viagra (really!), but I gather that it is a little blue pill. And, as fate would have it, that reply went to all the people who had received the original message.
You may not suffer such a dramatic faux pas, but the everyday abuse of reply-all drains patience and productivity from countless businesspeople. Most people hate reply-all. Some organizations are even eliminating the Reply-All function from their email systems to avoid the painful clogging of inboxes by scads of messages that are not important to the people who receive them.
Innoculate Yourself from Reply-All Fiascos
Reply-all disasters can happen despite our best efforts. We need to write all our email messages with the awareness that they could be read by readers we don’t anticipate. To innoculate yourself against a reply-all disaster, do not write things that you would be mortified about if they did go out on reply-all.
Often, the reply-all emails that get people fired or censured should never have been written. Gloating about someone being fired, smirking that someone is showing off her newly enhanced breasts, venting about your spouse’s bad behavior: Do these messages belong in emails from our business accounts? Do they belong in writing? Even if we are cautious, we may fall prey to the reply-all monster. Let’s make sure that if that happens, we are not ashamed.
How to Avoid Abusing Reply-All
Use technology to save you from technology.
- Microsoft offers an Outlook add-in called NoReplyAll that will add a few buttons to your Outlook ribbon that prevent people from replying all to the recipients of your message or forwarding it. Check it out.
- If you use Gmail, you can “mute” a conversation. Once you mute a conversation, all reply alls to the message will go straight to your archive, not into your inbox. Conversations are easy to retrieve.
Don’t burden the group with trivialities. Do not hit Reply All to say Congratulations! Happy Birthday!. Or to say, “I’ll be there!”
- Start a new email and address it only to the individual who needs this information.
- Be careful about hitting “Reply” to a group email. Your response might go to everyone.
The Credibility Costs of Hitting Reply-All
Remember, every time you send an email, your credibility is on the line. Before you hit Reply-All, ask yourself how doing so will affect your reputation. If everyone, and I mean everyone, who receives the message will feel that you have respected their time, go ahead. But if a significant number of your readers are likely to roll their eyes, think again.
Reply-All is a powerful tool easily wielded. Let’s make sure we don’t shoot ourselves in the foot.
©2019 Elizabeth Danziger All rights reserved
Take me to your leader! Communication woes drag down productivity and morale. Connect me with your decision-makers and see how Worktalk can transform communication in your world. Contact me at lizd@worktalk.com or 310.396.8303. You can also book through www.calendly.com/worktalk.
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About Worktalk
Here are some of the results you can expect from Worktalk’s written communication training. We prepare teams to write with clarity and confidence. Our process equips them with the mindset and tactics to deepen connections, increase influence, and create new possibilities.
To learn more about how Liz might make a difference in your organization, call her at 310.396.8303 or email lizd@worktalk.com.