Professional email communication requires precision, especially when involving multiple individuals in a discussion. Including a third party via Carbon Copy (CC) can change the dynamic or serve as a record of the conversation. To manage the involvement of these recipients effectively, deliberate language must be used within the email body. This ensures the CC recipient’s role and the reason for their inclusion are immediately clear to all parties. This article provides various professional and casual phrasings to reference a copied recipient. The selection of the correct phrasing depends on the sender’s intent and the necessary level of formality.
Understanding Carbon Copy and Blind Carbon Copy
The two primary methods for including secondary recipients in an email are Carbon Copy (CC) and Blind Carbon Copy (BCC). CC functions as a transparent addition, making the full list of CC’d recipients visible to the primary recipient and all others copied on the message. This method is generally used when the sender intends for all parties to be aware of who is receiving the information.
BCC, in contrast, hides the list of recipients from all other parties, including the primary recipient. This ensures that the individuals on the BCC list receive the email without their inclusion being disclosed to anyone else. Senders typically reserve BCC for situations where privacy is a concern or when sending mass communications where recipients should not see each other’s addresses.
Strategic Reasons to Mention a CC
Mentioning a CC recipient within the email body is a deliberate communicative choice that moves beyond the simple visibility of the address field. The primary strategic intent is to direct the attention of the primary recipient to the fact that another party is privy to the information. This action helps to clarify the organizational structure or the specific roles involved in the communication thread.
Acknowledging the CC recipient in the text can also establish a clear line of accountability for the subject matter. When a manager copies a team member and references them, it often signals that the team member is responsible for the next steps or for monitoring the progress of the issue. The practice provides context for the CC’d person, ensuring they understand their role in receiving the email.
Formal Ways to Reference a CC
In highly structured or external communications, using formal language to reference a copied party ensures the message maintains a professional tone. The phrasing selected should explicitly state the purpose of the inclusion, removing any ambiguity about the CC recipient’s expected level of involvement. This approach is particularly helpful in legal, financial, or high-level corporate correspondence where precision is valued.
Introducing a new participant for context
When the purpose of including a new participant is purely for informational context or future reference, the phrasing should reflect this passive role. A sender might write, “I have included Mr. Thomas on this email thread so he has full visibility into the development timeline,” or “Please note that Ms. Chen is copied here for her reference regarding the project scope.” This formal introduction immediately clarifies that the new participant is being kept informed rather than being assigned an immediate task.
Delegating action items
The formal delegation of a task requires clear, unambiguous language that assigns responsibility to the copied party. To delegate an action item, a sender could use phrases such as, “Mr. Smith is copied and will be handling the logistics for this event,” or “I am copying Ms. Jones, who will follow up with the required documentation.” These sentences directly assign the next step to the CC’d individual, ensuring the primary recipient knows whom to expect the action from.
Notifying of compliance or records
In matters requiring strict adherence to policy or maintenance of official records, the language must emphasize the documentation aspect of the communication. For compliance reasons, one might state, “The internal audit team has been copied on this message for record-keeping purposes,” or “As per company policy, our legal counsel is copied on this communication for compliance review.” This framing signals that the CC is a procedural necessity and establishes a clear paper trail for the discussion.
Casual Ways to Reference a CC
Internal team communications often benefit from more relaxed and concise language when referencing a CC. This casual approach speeds up communication flow while still ensuring all parties understand their standing in the conversation. The tone remains professional but substitutes formal declarations for more common workplace phrases.
Quick notification of inclusion
For quick updates or to simply keep a manager or colleague informed, brief phrases are efficient and common. A sender may write, “I’m keeping Sarah in the loop on this decision,” or “I’ve CC’d John so he’s aware of the situation.” These short statements confirm the inclusion of the third party without requiring a lengthy explanation of their role. The primary goal is to acknowledge their presence and their passive informational status.
Requesting input from the CC’d party
When the intent is to bring the CC recipient into the discussion to provide their expertise or perspective, the phrasing should invite their contribution directly. A simple way to do this is by writing, “CC’ing Alex for his input on the budget analysis,” or “I’ve copied Maria; can you provide her with the historical data for review?” This method uses the act of copying as an immediate transition to a request for action or specialized knowledge from the included colleague.
Email Etiquette and Best Practices
Strategic referencing of CC recipients is balanced by the necessity of good email etiquette, which dictates when a reference is appropriate and when it should be omitted. In long, ongoing reply chains, referencing a CC recipient who has been involved since the beginning can be redundant and distracting to the flow of the conversation. Senders should only reference a CC when the recipient is new to the thread or when a specific action is being assigned to them.
The practice of mentioning a BCC recipient in the body of an email is generally discouraged because it defeats the purpose of the Blind Carbon Copy function. If an external or compliance requirement mandates that a specific party must be informed secretly, the sender must ensure the message is necessary. Over-referencing, or mentioning every person copied in the body, risks cluttering the message and diluting the importance of the actual content.