If you have to address an email to one or multiple people (including to yourself), make every greeting a heading 3. That includes a single addressee, a group greeting such as "Hi All", and each smaller group that has its own part of the email. This helps everyone quickly find which part of the email applies to them.
Hi Jean,
Can you help with this one?
Hi Anthony,
I've tried to replicate the behaviour but was unsuccessful.
❌ Figure: Bad example - Names as normal text is not the best for readability
Can you help with this one?
I've tried to replicate the behaviour but was unsuccessful.
✅ Figure: Good example - Each addressee's name is a separate heading, so each person finds their part
The same applies to a group email. When part of the email is for everyone and part is for a smaller group, each part gets its own heading.
Hi All,
We're adding an Up for Grabs label to every internal product backlog. It marks the PBIs a team wants done and is happy for someone outside the team to pick up.
Product Owners, please:
❌ Figure: Bad example - Plain-text greetings hide who the task is for
We're adding an Up for Grabs label to every internal product backlog. It marks the PBIs a team wants done and is happy for someone outside the team to pick up.
✅ Figure: Good example - A group email gets a heading for everyone and a heading for the people with the task
Note: When sending from apps/devices that don't allow headings, at least make the names bold.
Tip: You can add a heading 3 in Outlook by typing Control + Alt + 3 (for Windows) or Command⌘ + Option + 3 (for Mac)
Video: Top 10+ Rules to Better Email Communication with Ulysses Maclaren.