Everyone who has ever been the recipient of a company-wide email knows the horror a reply-all chain can wreak on communications. Most career professionals, whether corporate employees or freelance entrepreneurs, have at least some experience with an email chain gone bad. In other words, we’ve all seen someone use bad email etiquette.
It’s hard to avoid. Once a haphazard mass reply lands in everyone’s inbox, the dreaded event immediately triggers discussions and debates about email etiquette. When should you BCC, CC, or Reply-All, anyway?
The thing is, all these functions are useful when used correctly. But, it’s important to understand the etiquette and politics involved when you do so. Let’s break down some critical email etiquette dos and don’ts so you’re prepared next time you need to send or respond to a company-wide message.