Below are a number of rules that are highly recommended when communicating via email.

Please read the entire letter before replying

Tactics "ran through the letter, saw familiar words in one paragraph, answered" is not welcome. Very often, several problems are discussed in letters at once, answering only one paragraph and not understanding the general logic of the discussion, you risk, at best, getting into an awkward position. At worst - substitute colleagues or partners. In the middle case - to confuse everyone. Another wording of this rule is "answer only when 1) you understand EVERYTHING 2) you have something to say in essence and / or your answer is necessary."

Click the "Reply All" button, not the "Reply" button

 The composition of the recipients is usually determined by the author of the first letter in the correspondence. By default, you must answer everyone (the analogy is "there is a general discussion in the common room"). The answer in the "only to the sender" mode is used to consciously bring the sender into a private conversation (the analogy is "invite a person from the common room and confer privately"). If you answer only to the sender, then at the beginning of this "separate" letter you need to clearly indicate this fact (for example, with the words "removed everyone from the copy, I want to consult").

Do not delete anyone from the correspondence without significant reasons

Removing people from correspondence is very rarely required. There must be some significant reason for this - and it is better not to do this. And if you do, then only "their own" and with their consent (for example, warning that "I am now excluding you from correspondence, the topic is in my area of ​​responsibility, there is nothing fundamental there, but if there is, I will tell"). At the same time, it is worthwhile at the very beginning of the letter to clearly indicate the fact of changing the list of recipients (for example, "while I am removing Ivanov from the copy"), so that all participants can navigate the situation.

Important question - in a separate letter

An important question should not be lazy and issue a separate letter. If there are several questions in one letter, then the "bad" person will answer only one (which he wants).

It is allowed to group several related questions on one topic in one letter (decomposition of one complex question into several small ones).

The subject line should be short and informative

If you are starting a correspondence, it is worth spending a little time and correctly formulating the subject of the message. The subject of the letter should be short, informative and correspond to the content of the letter as much as possible. Emails without a subject line are often ignored.

Check spelling

A small number of errors causes a smile, an average - annoyance, a large number - makes the letter unreadable. In any case, the reputation of the writer suffers.

Before connecting new members - check the ALL story in the message

Correspondence could start with anything and contain the most unexpected moments: statements that someone is a bad person, financial conditions, private information. By expanding the list of recipients, you need to be sure that no one will be offended, no one and nothing will suffer. At the same time, it is worthwhile at the very beginning of the letter to clearly indicate the fact of adding a person to the correspondence (for example, "+ Ivanov" or "I am adding Ivanov to the copy") so that all participants can navigate the situation.

Add new recipients wisely

Before you connect someone to the correspondence, make sure that the current participants will not mind. For example, if there is a boss in the correspondence, and you connect his subordinate to the correspondence, then in most cases this will not meet with understanding, since it is up to the manager to connect his subordinate to the correspondence or not. At the same time, it is worthwhile to explicitly indicate this at the very beginning of the letter (for example, "+ Ivanov" or "I am adding Ivanov to the copy") so that all participants can navigate the situation.

Before replying - check for new messages

While you were writing the answer, the discussion could move forward and your letter could become irrelevant, or it could lead the discussion in another direction. It is worth responding only to the most recent letter (if there are no new messages on the topic in the mailbox at the time of sending). The approach "come to work, 200 letters in the mail, go from the old ones and answer as I read" is NOT recommended. The correct practice is to work in two passes:

• first read all the mail, marking the letters that require a response as you go;
• second pass - replies to flagged messages.

The alternative is to start processing mail starting with newer mails.

Answer ALL questions in a letter

Related to the item "Important issue - a separate letter." Only "bad" people answer one question out of several asked. If you respect the sender, then you should answer all questions. Although there may be nuances

Bcc a colleague if you want to warn him

In some situations, you can add a colleague (or manager) to Bcc so that he is aware of your position. This can be used as a way of counteracting the approach where the correspondent can negotiate with you and your colleague separately, and the discrepancy in your positions "can be used against you"

Another way (more secure, but slightly longer) is as follows. State the official position in your letter, send the letter, and then forward this sent letter to your colleague with private comments.

Before answering - check if you are in an open (not hidden) copy

Your colleagues can put you in a blind copy so that you are aware and prepared for the fact that you may be approached with some question that is discussed in the correspondence (see the paragraph "Put a colleague in a blind copy" above). If you, without looking, answer everyone, then by doing so you put the person who included you in the hidden copy in an awkward situation.

Do not interrupt the question of another participant in the correspondence with your question, let the questioner get an answer to his question first

If in the last message a question was asked to one of the participants, then it is worth the wait with new questions - give the opportunity to answer the question asked. If you ask a new question, then with a probability of 99% the respondent will answer the last (asked by you) question, that is, your colleague's question will remain unanswered, which is sad

Correctly address the question to a new participant

If you need to connect a new participant and ask him a question, then:

• you need to explicitly indicate that you are changing the composition of the participants in the correspondence (for example, at the very beginning write "+ Ivanov" or "I add Ivanov to the correspondence")
• if the question is intended for a new participant in the correspondence, then
  • the letter must be addressed directly to him (that is, indicate it in the "To" field)
  • specifically for it, it is necessary to describe the context of the discussion
  • it is necessary to explicitly ask a new private trader a question.
• you need to carefully check all other points of this document that you are now reading (for example, check for financial information in previous correspondence, etc.).

Correctly change the status of correspondence from internal to external

Suppose there is a correspondence between employees of the same department. If a member from another department or organization connects, then on a "frontal" connection, they will see the entire history of internal correspondence on this issue - which may lead to unwanted disclosure of information. So it's better not to do that. Recommended course of action:

• close internal discussion thread
• start a new thread (from scratch) of discussion with a new participant, in the first letter of which you need to briefly describe the context, the issue under discussion, etc.

Reread with different intonations

If the letter is intended for a respected and significant person, then it is better to reread the letter with different intonations. Depending on the chosen intonation, the meaning of the letter can change dramatically! It is not known with what internal intonation the recipient will read the letter.

Do not use the style "Please comment on the correspondence below"

If at some point in the correspondence one of the participants addresses a letter to a new participant with the words "Comment, please", this, as a rule, makes the whole situation less constructive. There are several reasons:

• negative reaction of current participants (this can be regarded as distrust of current participants or belittling their role);
• negative reaction of the new participant (he is "off topic", there is no explicitly asked question, he is forced to read all the correspondence and try to understand what exactly they want from him).

The correct actions are indicated in the sections "Properly address the question to a new participant" and "Properly change the status of correspondence from internal to external".

Add an automatic signature indicating the full name, organization, position, contacts

If for some reason you do not want this information to be added to each letter, make it a rule to add such a signature manually at the beginning of correspondence with a new correspondent to give him the opportunity to add information about you to his contact book.C reating a personal signature in letters

Suggestions and additions to these rules can be sent to 4141@nsu.ru