CADDManager on October 2nd, 2008

Use of read receipts, high priority and URGENT

Don’t globally request a read-receipt – this may annoy your recipient before they have even read your message.   I get these a lot and usually never say yes – send them a read receipt.  Many people consider this an invasion of privacy and usually click cancel (like me). If you need a read receipt, then use it on individual emails only.  I do this when I want to know if people have actually opened the email.  This is still not a guarantee that they have read it.   Most email clients have a  way of setting it so that you donot automatically send a read receipt.

In Outlook – go to Tools > Options > Email Options > Tracking Options to get the dialog box below.

Don’t overly set emails as high priority or urgent when you send them, some people may have lots of emails to deal with.   I tend to overuse the “exclaimation point” from time to time.  And don’t use the words URGENT or IMPORTANT in the subject line of an email as if you expect an instant reply. If your message really is urgent or important then email is not the correct communication method to be using in the first place; the telephone is probably better option.  or better yet – Instant Messaging.

Leave a Reply