Reply, or reply to all
Tell, before you press anything, exactly who is about to read what you write.
When a message is open in front of you there are usually three buttons. They sit side by side, they look alike, and they do very different things.
Reply all is a perfectly good tool. Nine people organizing a supper need to see each other’s answers. The trouble only ever comes from pressing it without looking.
Key points
- Tell at a glance which button answers one person and which answers everybody
- Read the To line before typing, so you always know who is listening
- Use Reply all deliberately, when the whole group genuinely needs the answer
What to remember
- Reply always means the sender on their own, whoever else was on the message.
- Reply all is a tool, not a trap. The question is always the same: does everybody need to read this?
- The line at the top of a reply always tells you how many people are about to read it. Trust it.
Try this
Open any group email in your own inbox and press Reply all — then, before typing a single word, read the list of names it has put in the To line. Press Discard. That two-second glance is the entire skill.
Practice: Reply, or reply to all. Your first lesson is free, with no account or card; the rest are part of a Lantern plan. Interactive lessons require JavaScript.