Which of these two emails would you rather receive? Most of us would prefer the shorter, more focused email message. Why? Because after reading it we know:
- What to do
- What’s expected
- How to prioritize it.
These key elements are absolutely critical when communicating in a world of billions of emails sent daily.
There are two email writing techniques to help you achieve the above mentioned three goals:
- Subject line usage
- Tightening our emails
Let’s break them down below!
Subject Line Usage
The email subject is a handy tool to empower our readers and help them prioritize which emails require what response and by when.
Think of how many times you’ve gotten emails with a subject line that looks like this:
Subj: “RE: RE: FW: RE: FW: RE: Networking.”
When you have a confusing subject line, it can be easy to lose sight of what you’re actually talking about. When did the conversation start to go off the rails? Was it the second “forward” or the third “regarding?” Who knows!
That’s why we need to focus on creating a clear, straightforward subject- even if the email has been forwarded and replied to a dozen times. Go ahead and take the initiative to update the subject to be specific to your email or the action required when sending, responding to, or forwarding an email.
For example, when responding to something like this “RE: RE: FW: RE: FW: RE: Networking” tailor the subject to summarize the email body. For example, the subject might look something like this:
“DIB: Confirmed. Five people at 8/21 OC networking event.”
Notice the new subject includes the team abbreviation “DIB” then the action “confirmed” and closes with what was confirmed and for when. Now we know, without reading the email that the DIB team is confirmed for sending five people to the 8/21 Orange County networking event.
If the reader never reads the email, the reader knows the contents of the email. We have empowered the reader to skip the email or prioritize this lower than other emails because they know the meat of the message without having to open the email.
For emails we need action to be taken on, we should update the subject with the action required. For example: approve, FYI, review. We should also include a due date for the response.
Consider the following subject format:
- Team or project abbreviation
- Action required
- Topic
- Due date
For example, “DIB: APPROVE – Aug Executive Status Report – by 8/21.” In this subject, we have just told the user what needs to be done, for whom, and by when. These simple steps focus our users when they read the message. They are reading a status report to approve it by 8/21.
Tightening Our Emails
Let’s review the example from the top of this article. Sure, we could comment on how thoughtless the short email from the executive is. We could even call it unfriendly. “What, no ‘hi’?” But, we could also say it clearly and concisely lays out what the reader needs to do. They need to review the attachment and provide a summary conclusion.
In a world where billions of emails are sent daily, let’s ensure our emails are getting read by tightening our communication. To tighten the language, we need to organize our emails using the below four steps.
Step 1: Start the email out with the call to action and direct language.
Consider the following example:
“Please review the attached executive status report and provide your feedback by 8/21.”
vs.
“Please find attached a status report written and reviewed by the team for your feedback. This status report will be sent to the project executives on 8/22. Thus, we would like your review by 8/21.”
Both emails say the same thing. However, the first is crisper and more to the point. This enables the reader to immediately understand the request and move on quickly.
Step 2: Be brief.
The majority of emails are read over smartphones. In these cases, the screen size is minimal. Thus, we need to keep our emails short and to the point. Avoid long dissertations and focus the email on the key questions.
Step 3: Request meetings for meaty topic discussion.
If you have a “meaty” topic, rather than emailing a dissertation, provide a two-sentence summary of the issue and ask for 10 mins on someone’s calendar to discuss it. Often, we avoid these conversations and write one-sided push emails.
However, those only spin more emails! To prevent that, we should avoid using emails as a means to discuss complex topics. Instead, request a meeting and work through it over the phone.
In conclusion, it’s clear that an email is a tool that will stay with the business for a long time. However, it is our choice whether we are the email senders who get “read” or those who get “skipped.”
I encourage you to:
1) Turn the email subject into a summary of the email so people are grounded on the topic before they begin.
2) Tighten your email body to be crisp, clear, and concise to help ensure your email gets read!
Want to build stronger communication across your team? Let us help.
