A site visitor emailed that in his quest to become efficient and minimize the email volume in his inbox, that he wanted to include “No Need for Reply” in his email or Subject: line. This was his way of letting the other side know that they didn’t have to spend time replying because, in his view, there is no reply necessary. Is this approach appropriate or is there a better way to accomplish this goal?
One has to be careful when using this tactic to make sure you are not perceived as someone who is dictating or not open to replies that may in fact have an opinion different than yours. Why else would you make a point of stating “no need for reply”? Because you feel there is no reason for a reply does not mean the recipient will feel the same. Some could perceive that type of comment as a way of stating you are not interested in their input, opinion or point of view.
What I suggest you do, if you feel you need to head off an unnecessary reply, is to type at the end of your email before your closing something like “…no reply is necessary, just wanted to keep you in the loop.” With that said, keep in mind that simply by virtue of including these words will not prevent a reply if the recipient feels they have something they want you to be aware of.
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I agree. Some people are VERY sensitive and to say “no reply necessary” could directly be interpretted as a “I don’t care about you” statement. If you’re a boss of a company especially, this could make your subordinates/employees VERY nervous which obviously will negatively impact morale.
If you do this to your spouse, then well he/she may think “uh oh, something is wrong, is he/she cheating on me?” etc etc. You get the idea.
I find it best to “imply” that no reply is necessary but not outright say that. That way people will get the hint but not feel like you’re directly snubbing them. I would say “just wanted to let you know” or “just keeping you in the loop” or “Hey I’m swamped with work at the moment but I thought I just throw you this really quick email. Ok talk to you later!” Not snubbish, and it definately implies that you’re too busy to receive a reply or handle anymore emails. Often, if you indicate you’re really too busy, most people won’t send you a reply back (well it usually works, not always obviously, heh).
Hey, Jamie:
Great suggestions!
Take care ~
Judith