Conducting training sessions on fundamental business writing skills for young professionals has helped me realize one thing: half of y’all don’t even know what the basic email terms and functions are. Do you?

Let’s do a quick review.

What does Cc stand for and what is its function?

Cc stands for carbon copy. When you use this function everyone that you are emailing can see the message AND all email addresses that are being Cc’d.

Some good uses of Cc include:

• When using transparency to build trust.
• When more than one person needs to be kept in the loop.
• When it’s beneficial for multiple people to read and share responses.
• When making introductions such as, “Hi, I would like to introduce you to Michelle. I’ve Cc’d her on this also.”

Some annoying uses of Cc include:

• When people do not want their email addresses shared with random individuals.
• When there will be a lot of responses with information that the entire group doesn’t need to know about.
• When you are being passive-aggressive because someone hasn’t replied to you. Before Cc’ing his boss, maybe you can send a follow-up email or give him a call first.

A catastrophic use of Cc:

Accidentally Cc’ing the wrong person! Ouch. I’ve seen people lose clients, jobs, and relationships for this mishap.

I suggest you stop, think, and re-read the original message, any replies, your reply, and the “To” fields (Cc, Bcc) before you hit “send”.

Do you know the origin of the term “Carbon copy”?

Before photocopiers, carbon paper—patented by English inventor, Ralph Wedgwood, in 1806—was used to make copies. People placed carbon paper between two sheets of paper and the pigment from the top sheet would transfer to the bottom sheet, creating a carbon copy.

Carbon paper could get messy. If you weren’t careful, you could leave smudges on the copies, originals, and anything that near the carbon paper. Also, if you didn’t press down hard enough the copies were illegible.

What does Bcc stand for and what is its function?

Bcc stands for blind carbon copy. When you use this function email recipients are masked. So, recipients cannot see others who have been Bcc’d on the email.

Some good uses of Bcc include:

• When you are emailing a large group of people and you want to keep their email addresses private and secure.
• When you want to prevent recipients from using “reply all” to spam the entire list. I HATE when I get spammed with a thousand emails because somebody didn’t use Bcc.
• When discussing conflicts or sensitive topics.
• When you need to keep your team lead, manager, or mentor in the loop on important matters. For example, I have contractors and employees who Bcc me when sending contracts to our clients.

An annoying and possibly catastrophic use of Bcc:

Being gossipy or trying to catch someone in a “gotcha” moment. If they find out, they will be annoyed. Also, trying to be Machiavellian about a situation only to find out that the other parties involved are colleagues or friends could have serious repercussions.

I suggest you stop, think, and re-read the original message, any replies, your reply, and the email fields (Cc, Bcc) before you hit “send”.

What is the function of “Reply”?

Duh. It’s to respond to the sender.

I suggest you stop, think, and re-read the original message, any replies, your reply, and the email fields (Cc, Bcc) before you hit “send”.

What is the function of “Reply all”?

Use this function and your email, along with the entire email thread, will be sent to the original sender and all Cc’d recipients. Do you really want to email everybody?

A good use of “Reply all” is when your response is important or relevant to all recipients. Here are some examples of information that is usually relevant to all recipients:

• Providing updates
• Confirming meeting times
• Asking clarifying questions that everybody needs the answers to
• Giving directions and other logistics

An annoying use of “Reply all”:

Spamming people with unwanted and useless information. Grrr… For example, there is no need to use “Reply all” when providing your t-shirt size. We don’t care and maybe the person asking should have used Bcc in the first place.

Oh, and here’s another one. When you don’t read the entire thread first and then start asking and saying things that may have already been addressed several times. That is definitely annoying.

Here’s a catastrophic use of “Reply all”:

When you are sending personal information or criticizing, complaining, disparaging, and hating on somebody, but you didn’t realize they were Cc’d. That includes clients, co-workers, friends, and family. People have been fired and gotten divorced because of this.

I suggest you stop, think, and re-read the original message, any replies, your reply, and the email fields (Cc, Bcc) before you hit “send”.

What is “Forward” and what is its function?

A forwarded email goes to one or more new recipients and by default excludes the original recipients. But keep in mind, unless it is edited out, information about the original sender, recipients, dates, and times are included in the forwarded email.

Some good uses of “Forward” include:

• When you need to get someone up to speed on a particular situation because they weren’t included in the original message thread.
• When the original message includes vital details about tasks and responsibilities related to the new recipient.
• When the original message includes attachments that you want to pass along.

TIP: In order to avoid confusion and provide clarity, it might be a good idea to summarize or comment on the email you have forwarded. This is especially true if you are forwarding a long email thread.

Here’s an extremely annoying use of “Forward”:

Spam.

This is a guaranteed way to get your future emails blocked or pushed way to the bottom of my “I might get to it later, if ever” list.

Two catastrophic uses of “Forward”:

• If you accidentally forward something to the wrong recipient that could be a catastrophe. Yikes!
• If you breach privacy, confidentiality, violate professional codes of conduct or company policies that is a catastrophe.

I suggest you stop, think, and re-read the original message, any replies, your reply, and the email fields (Cc, Bcc) before you hit “send”.

Do you know the origin of “forward”?

This term comes from traditional mail also known as snail mail. From ancient Egypt all the way up to modern day postal services, couriers have been “forwarding” mail.

Ok… You just read through seven questions and answers about basic email terms. So, how’d you do? Regardless of your results, here’s one last piece of advice in case you missed it:

I suggest you stop, think, and re-read the original message, any replies, your reply, and the email fields (Cc, Bcc) before you hit “send” or “forward”.

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

1. Describe a time when you have received an annoying email because someone unnecessarily used the Cc function. What was your response?=
2. Give an example of when you or someone you’ve heard about used the “Forward” function in a spammy way. If you received the email, what did you do?
3. Describe a time when you or someone you’ve heard about had a problem because of an email they sent. How would you have handled the situation?