Just because it is easy for me to upload and send out 500 pictures doesn't mean it's easy for you to view them all.
This topic came up recently with the NFO as I relayed to her my impression of an email following our return from Israel.
I was processing our pictures from the trip and on the storage card were some pictures from other events. As I usually do, I sent the pics out to various others who were in them (or of their kids). All together, it was about 30 different notes.
They were prefaced with "sorry for the delay in sending these pics of your kids, but we were in Israel, etc."
Two types of responses came back.
- "Thanks. How was Israel?"
- "Thanks. Hope Israel was great."
I could:
- Write a terse response, such as "It was great."
- Write a lengthy, individual response.
- Not reply at all.
- If I wrote a terse response, he may take it as a brush off
- If I wrote a long response, I'd have to invest a lot of time to complete it
- If I didn't respond, she might feel I ignored her.
The question here is: if someone sends an email where the question is broad and open-ended, what is the best way to respond?
And a follow on: Given the nature of email, should we EVER be sending broad, open-ended questions or are they better reserved for phone/in-person conversations?