The courtesy of courtesy copy (CC)
"Courtesy costs nothing but buys everything." Ali Ibne Abu Talib
Ah electronic mail, otherwise known as email. I, along with many of you are old enough to remember its advent. The contemporary workplace, indeed, our world has benefitted from email – sending what used to take a pen and paper or a typewriter and some postage in a matter of seconds. One can even attach additional documents, website links, pictures, and videos with ease. With a simple click of a button, message sent. One of the benefits of email is that it prevents constant interruptions. Send something and the receiver can open and read it at their convenience. The ease and convenience of email, however, requires discipline and a methodology understood by sender and receiver. Otherwise, messages can be misunderstood, inconvenient, poorly delivered, and even inappropriate.
I come from a place – the U.S. military, where clear communication was and is essential. Get a message wrong and you risk mission failure and even injury or death. Lives were at stake so clear communication, by whatever means was essential. This experience, this communication discipline and rigor is applicable to the modern workplace.
I never send an email without considering the message and my intent with it. It happens in seconds for me. I may read back what I wrote out load, ponder its purpose, necessity, and even have another person read it to assess its clarity. Am I giving a directive? If so, I’ll need to spell out my intent and probably follow up in person to ensure they understand. Am I just passing information? If so, I’ll need to be cautious of any language which sounds like a directive. Am I angry or emotional? If so, email is not the right means to communicate. Who is getting the email or who should? Who should be a direct recipient and who should be courtesy copied? What is my intent behind a courtesy copy? I’ve gone so far as to explain my methodology using email – my intent so that when my people receive an email from me, they receive it with a bit more clarity from the start.
I do love the courtesy copy option, even the blind courtesy copy option even though I rarely use it. Blind courtesy copy seems devious to me, as if I am hiding something or doing something behind someone’s back. A courtesy copy is just that – a courtesy. I would courtesy copy a person if I wanted to keep them informed about the message yet feel no obligation to act or to respond. If I want something from them, I’ll put them on the ‘To:’ line and I’ll probably address them specifically with my desires. I may mention that I’ve CC’d a person in the body of the email so that the receiver of the message knows they are in the ‘conversation.’ I may follow up in person with someone I’ve CC’d to gather their thoughts but when I decide to courtesy copy them, I am only extending a courtesy.
This whole concept of courtesy copying may seem quite obvious, yet I’ve seen it violated many times between my consulting, coaching, and personally being the recipient of a courtesy copy. The point is, in the automated world of lighting fast swipes and clicks, take pause and consider who it is you are courtesy copying and why, because to not do so is to be inconsiderate or not courteous.
Make it Personal!
Rob
Rob Campbell