Crafting a work email when you’re annoyed at a coworker requires a certain amount of tact. Lisa from accounting may have missed a huge deadline, but you have to be diplomatic, not snippy, when reminding her that it’s still due. (Come on, Lisa, get it together.)
The best work clap back ― or “friendly reminder” to get something done ― is subtle but gets to the point. Last week, Washington, DC.-based writer and marketing consultant Danielle René tweeted her go-to response for when people at work need some gentle prodding to actually work:
She also shared her default method for seeking clarity on a project:
René’s tweets kickstarted a hilarious convo on Twitter, with people weighing in with their favorite ways to throw shade on the down low at work.
Here’s how to casually loop back on an email you sent four days ago:
Or let your coworkers know you’ve come prepared with receipts:
CC’ing the person’s boss or manager, however, is next-level petty and essentially means war:
There’s always the “maybe you can point me in the direction of someone who could help me” approach:
And finally, don’t forget that email signoffs are great way to serve up that last bit of pettiness you’ve been bottling up inside:
Scroll down (past the newsletter sign-up form) for more responses you may want to borrow from people on Twitter:
"Please let me know if I misunderstood"
— Lindsay Bacher (@lindsayinMPLS) August 22, 2017
Subject line : Friendly Reminder
— {Deep Sigh} (@RuffinMuch) August 22, 2017
"Gentle reminder"
— Coastal elite. (@NnprftMuse) August 22, 2017
Can we add "duly noted - However"
— stephanie guy (@_StephanieGuy) August 23, 2017
"Going forward, I would prefer that you..."
— Femmy From Da Bronx (@FeministaJones) August 22, 2017
The most recent one included, "for transparency and in case of audit" the one before that included "to ensure all documents are reconciled"
— Buttercup (@DeeDeeJonee) August 22, 2017
See, I like to begin my emails with shade so there's no confusion:
— Emily Williams (@mle0908) August 22, 2017
Instead of:
"Hello Karen,"
use
"Karen,"
"Just to reiterate..." and then highlight and bold what was clearly stated in said email chain.
— JayHova Stark (@DarkandLuuNEY) August 22, 2017