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Cover Your Bases When Sending
Important Email - Mark it 'Read Receipt Requested'
NOTE: As always, my directions apply
to MS Office 2007; earlier versions may not be
exactly the same. If using an older version, click
on the Help link at the top of your program or go to
www.microsoft.com to access MS's own tutorials.
How many times have you sent an important email only
to later hear that the recipient didn't get it?
Perhaps you sent out the proposal you and your
client hammered out over a period of several days;
imagine his dissatisfaction at not getting that
expected and crucial email from you.
Obviously, it could negatively impact your landing
that job.
Because technology certainly has its hiccups, you
need to know for sure that important emails actually
arrive at their destination.
You can't afford to wait until it's too late. Your
professional reputation is at stake.
One easy solution in Microsoft Outlook is the Read
Receipt function.
Simply put, it sends the recipient a message asking
whether or not the email was read and asking if it's
okay to tell the sender so.
With a new email open, click on the following:
- Options
- Request a Read Receipt
- Now, simply compose your email as usual and
send.
This is what will happen: Your client gets your
email and before he can even read it, a message box
will appear informing him that you have asked for
confirmation that he has read the email, which he is
about to do.
His choice will be to say YES or NO. He will also be
given the option to check a little box that says,
'Don't ask me about sending receipts again'.
Personal experience tells me that most people simply
check YES. I can't think of a good reason not to.
An email is now generated by Outlook and
automatically sent to you giving you the following
information:
- The name of the email you sent (taken from your
subject line);
- When it was sent by you;
- To whom you sent it;
- The exact date and time it was read by
the recipient.
This function would have particular importance when
your email contains a time-sensitive offer ("Hurry, good
only for the next 24 hours!") but its practicality knows
no bounds.
One word of caution, however... Don't abuse this
function. By using it sparingly and only when truly
necessary, your read receipted email retains its
perception of importance.
By overusing this function, your readers
may get annoyed with the 'interruption' and perceive
all your emails to be of the same importance - or
unimportance.
Another thing... if that email was important enough
to use that function with in the first place, make
sure to keep the email receipt for your records
showing when it was read.
Used properly, the Read Receipt Requested function
enables you to cover your business bases - and
that's always a good thing.
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