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10 Things You Should Never Write in an E-Mail or Instant Message

The following 10 phrases draw more attention to your surreptitious e-mail activity than they do to conceal it, and though they seem harmless, they could put your job and career in jeopardy.

We’ve all done it: Dashed off an e-mail or instant message in which we shared with a co-worker confidential information about a layoff or bad quarter, trash-talked a boss or squawked about a hair-harebrained management decision.

Knowing we were typing something that we should have kept to ourselves, some of us might qualify our e-mail or IM with one of the following 10 statements, to underscore the sensitivity of the message and to cover our butts:

  1. “I could get into trouble for telling you this, but…”
  2. “Delete this e-mail immediately.”
  3. “I really shouldn’t put this in writing.”
  4. “Don’t tell So-and-So.” Or, “Don’t send this to So-and-So.”
  5. “She/He/They will never find out.”
  6. “We’re going to do this differently than normal.”
  7. “I don’t think I am supposed to know this, but…”
  8. “I don’t want to discuss this in e-mail. Please give me a call.”
  9. “Don’t ask. You don’t want to know.”
  10. “Is this actually legal?

I got this from http://advice.cio.com/meridith_levinson/10_things_you_should_never_write_in_an_e_mail_or_instant_message

Posted by: Meridith Levinson in Best Practices
Topic: Personal Management
Blog: Career Connection