Careers experts outline the five different email personalities and what they mean

The ‘single word replier’, the ‘rambler’ and the ‘black hole’ are three of the five main email personalities, careers experts have revealed.

While email is an invaluable tool in the workplace – even more so in 2020 with so many employees now working remotely – it can present serious communications issues because a worker’s online personality is often vastly different to the one they have in person.

‘This can present challenges when you’re trying to confirm project details, gather information, or get any other work-related matter across the line,’ Australian employment website Seek wrote in a blog post.

So what are the five main email personalities and which category do you fall into?

1. The Black Hole

The most infuriating email personality is the ‘Black Hole’ – someone who never responds to their emails.

‘Even if you request a confirmation reply or mark your emails to them with with that little urgent flag, they never respond,’ Seek experts said. 

The best way to deal with this type of personality is not to email them repeatedly, but to get them on the phone or if you work in the same location, swing by their desk.

The Seek team added that if it’s vital you have a paper trail confirming what you’ve discussed, then you should just ‘flick them’ a very brief email after your face-to-face chat.   

2. The Over-Communicator

The second email personality is the ‘Over-Communicator’, who regularly sends an array of emails, and even stops by your desk to tell you that they have just sent an email.

‘It may seem unnecessary, but keep in mind some of these people simply prefer more personal communication, or may not be overly confident using technology,’ the Seek team said.

The best way to manage this type of email personality is by responding to their emails as soon as possible, even if it’s only to re-assure them that you’ll get back to them properly soon. 

Do not ‘leave them hanging’ unanswered for too long a period of time, as this will only make them nervous.

3. The Rambler

‘The Rambler’ is a fan of sending long emails that take paragraphs and paragraphs to make the simplest points.

These long-winded, stream-of-consciousness-style style of emails often confuse and bamboozle receivers, who have to sift through reams of information to reach the point.

If you’re dealing with a ‘rambler’, Seek reckons you you should skim what they say as quickly as possible to pick out any relevant information. 

If you need confirmation, respond with brief bullet points, and hopefully they will get the idea.

4. The Single Word Replier

We all know a ‘Single Word Replier’, who often just gets back to important emails that require more information with sharp responses like ‘Okay’, ‘No’ or ‘Wednesday’.

‘These people are usually pressed for time, or prefer a direct approach,’ Seek explained.

In order to have a good working relationship with this type of email personality, keep your communication with them friendly and to-the-point.  

5. The LOLCats Sender

Finally, the ‘LolCats Sender’ is someone who sends you everything – from memes to inspirational quotes and cat videos to keep you distracted through the working day.

This type of email personality can be prone to ‘clogging your inbox with non-work-related junk’, and while some people love these emails, others despise them.

If you’re someone who can’t deal with these emails, try politely requesting that you are not CCd into them. 

You could also try making them go into a folder, but just make sure you check the folder every now and then so you can see if there’s anything work-related you need to know about.

Previously, Sydney executive coach Nicole Grainger-Marsh revealed the most common mistakes made in professional emails.

Ms Grainger-Marsh said unnecessarily marking correspondence as ‘urgent’ comes across impatient and entitled, while writing lengthy paragraphs full of needless information portrays you as a poor communicator.

You should also steer clear of skipping any pleasantries, as this can come across as rude, and you should never write ‘thanks in advance’, which comes across as passive aggressive.

Finally, hitting ‘reply all’ or copying half the office into an email chain can seem like you’re shirking responsibility or lumping part of your workload onto others, according to Ms Grainger-Marsh. 

You should also be careful to make sure you have perfect grammar.