Make sure you are clear about what your email is about. Is it to establish tasks for a project, or to inform a group of colleagues? Before you send, make sure you know what you want out of sending the email and proofread for clarity. Likewise, make the Subject: field of your email clear.
When everyone is added to the To: field, it is unclear who needs to take responsibility for action. A good rule of thumb is to think of the To: field as being reserved for people that will work on the email or request. Think of the Cc: field as an FYI - people are added simply for their own knowledge with no expectation that they take action.
Start your email with a quick salutation, followed by the purpose.
Be mindful when using Reply All. Ask yourself:
Subject line prefixes can improve your email efficiency. Have your team agree on which codes to use so that everyone shares a common language. Some examples include:
RR: Reply Requested
AR: Action Requested
NRR: No Response/Reply Required
FYI: For Your Information (Definitely no response required, and may not be work-specific or even necessary to send)
EOM: End of Message, in which you write your very short message in the subject line and end with [EOM] so the person doesn’t even open the message, but simply reads the subject line and deletes.
