Jane introduces Pete to Sara with an introduction email. Pete is just about to follow up – he has 3 options –
1. Reply-to-all: Jane will continue to be in the loop – most likely not the best for Jane as she doesn’t need to know the details of when they will meet/have a chat.
2. Reply to Sara: Jane won’t know if Pete responded unless Pete forwards the response. At the other end, Sara won’t be sure if Jane knows they are chatting so she might forward her response too.
3. Bcc Jane: In the best available solution, Pete replies to Sara with Jane moved to bcc. He then starts off the note with a “Thanks so much Jane for connecting us. I’ve moved you to bcc so you aren’t troubled by our future exchanges.”
This solves the problems created above and ensures Jane is in the loop. If Jane wants to be part of the conversation, she can always be asked to be included but this is unlikely.
Bcc is a powerful email feature. Use it to improve communication and take people out of the loop nicely.
A Learning a Day 