What is your email style?

Are you addicted, a journalist, a Twitter enthusiast, a procrastinator, a lazy chatterbox, an introverted chatterbox, a dinosaur, absent-minded, a joker, a complainer, a lecturer, a champion, a night owl, an aggressor, an American, shy, knowledgeable, an expert, a boss, a stylist, paranoid, sincere, a friend, a true friend, or a fake friend when it comes to composing an email?

Even though I don't particularly like labels that tend to reduce our personalities, I've had some fun categorizing a few typical profiles that I've actually encountered (any resemblance to real individuals is not coincidental), including my own...

Do you know...

The Addict

who asks everyone to be CC'd and complains about having too many emails, who reads emails before going to sleep and upon waking up, who reads and sends emails while driving, who reads emails while having lunch with you pretending to listen, who reads emails during meetings, and takes pleasure in sending a work-related email while riding a chairlift on vacation.

The Journalist

who writes lengthy emails to make sure they don't forget anything and that all potentially involved parties receive the information. It's their problem if they don't read it properly: the information is there ("it's in the paper").

The Twitter Enthusiast

who forwards emails with an FYI and absolves themselves of the meaning and importance of the information instead of, at the very least, summarizing it and saving everyone's time. They also feel like they're filtering the important from the irrelevant for the benefit of their colleagues. It's a bit like a teacher sending you books to read.

The Procrastinator

who structures their day according to the emails received and deals with the most complicated tasks as late as possible, hoping they will somehow resolve themselves.

The Lazy Chatterbox

who writes emails the way they speak, without correcting spelling mistakes, often using shortcuts borrowed from SMS language because it's faster to write, even if it takes longer to understand.

The Introverted Chatterbox

who uses email to chat even when they're right in front of you.

The Dinosaur

who prints out emails because it's easier to read, doesn't put a subject in their emails, and uses the Cc field... when they reach the end of the To field...

The Absent-Minded One

who includes in the recipient list of an email the person they shouldn't, as it's someone they criticize.

The Joker

who sends a request for a phone meeting on a Sunday morning using the computer of the absent-minded person who left their PC accessible without locking their session.

The Complainer

who is not the absent-minded one but the one who truly believed there was a phone appointment and canceled their tennis game with their son to wait for 15 minutes on a Sunday morning just to be "corporate."

The Lecturer

who gives their opinion on everything or almost everything, which gives them a sense of being irreplaceable, even though deep down they are seeking reassurance.

The Champion

who responds within a quarter of a second to the email they just received, feeling efficient.

The Night Owl

who sends emails between 11 PM and 6 AM, thinking it demonstrates their commitment and will be well-received.

The Aggressor

who often vents their frustrations by adding sarcastic smileys and includes managers in the loop.

The American

who starts their email with "Awesome" without realizing they do it so often that their empathy is no longer believable.

The Shy One

who doesn't ask all the questions at once and needs to be prodded through three or four emails to get information out of them.

The Knowledge Seeker

who needs to understand why they are being asked a question before answering it.

The Expert

who answers the question they were asked in the email and the other nine questions they weren't asked because others are not experts and don't ask the right questions.

The Boss

who doesn't realize, for example, that an innocuous question sent to four managers via email can result in a hundred exchanges or even a few meetings.

The Stylist

who chooses an email template with notebook spirals or embellishes their emails with beautiful images to illustrate their point, but they are the only ones who consider it beautiful.

The Paranoid One

who wants to make sure you've read their email and requests a read receipt.

The Sincere One

who signs off with "sincerely" as they say "to be completely transparent" or "to be completely honest," sharpening the stress of the paranoid one who sees a hidden message in it.

The Benevolent One

who signs off with "warm regards" or "kind regards." But what does that mean?

The Friend

who signs off with "best wishes" to come across as friendly, even though friendship is not something you proclaim.

The True Friend

who signs off with "hugs" because friendship means not being afraid of the other person's gaze.

The Fake Friend

who signs off with "kind regards" because it's in their signature and they don't see the point of changing their signature for you.

I could continue to have fun for a long time by listing all the behaviors observed in emails that reflect the multiple personalities of the people around us. Unlike the saying "don't judge a book by its cover," I am convinced that the way we communicate, and dress reveals a part of our personalities that nonetheless remain complex.

I must admit that I've probably been all these people at different moments in my life.