Tips for Writing Emails in a Smart, Concise, and Time-Saving Way   

Ah, the joy of the cryptic email. You know it well: the sigh-inducing, need-more-coffee-before-I-can-understand-this-message email. You see its vague subject line float into your inbox, open it up, and need to read it three times to understand what is being asked. We all receive many emails like this on the average day, often more if in a busy week. And as the number of messages you receive and send increases, you fall prey to the need to respond hastily. Then, often these emails lead to more questions, and hence—more email.

But wait, you say, email is dead! While that may be on the horizon, we’re not there yet. In 2016, email is still a primary communications channel for many organizations.

So with email still in full use, let’s find a way to use it more effectively. It all starts with the subject line.

Creating Effective (and Time-Saving) Emails

While it’s easy to overlook, a smart subject line can make the difference between an email that gets you a clear answer right away, and one that creates a flood of back-and-forth messages.

So here’s a little quiz: you’ve written a short bio for a leader that he/she needed to review by the end of the week. You know they’re busy and receive dozens of emails each day. Which one of the following subject lines do you think is more effective in getting the leader to respond?

A.  Re: Updates
B.  For Review: Your Bio for the Intranet

I hope you agree that the better subject line is B, which clearly states the purpose of the message and the requested action by the recipient.

Next up, message structure. Do you tend to write long sentences and/or long paragraphs? If so, make an effort to cut them down or break them up. Your reader should be able to skim your message (which they’re likely doing anyway) to get the general idea. Bullets are very helpful in making your message more skim-friendly.

Now let’s talk about those hasty emails. Do you read your draft emails in full before hitting send? Did you use spell check? If it’s an email to a senior-level person, it’s advisable to draft the email, put it aside for a bit (as time permits, but even five minutes will do) and then re-read it before you hit send to make sure it’s clear, concise, and typo-free. You’ll always be glad you did.

Lastly, here’s a quick checklist to make sure your email will get you the answer you need:

1.  Effective subject line: As noted above, include a call to action, and be specific.
2.  Short paragraphs: Paragraph breaks are your friend. They help make the message skim-friendly and easy to check for actions needed.
3.  Bullets: Take those long paragraphs—and long sentences—and make them into bullets. Again, this adds to the “skimmability” of the message.
4.  Timeliness: Do you need an answer or material by a certain date or time? Be sure to make this as clear as possible so you can get what you need.
5.  List of Reviewers: If you’re sending material to a leader for review, it’s often helpful to list the people who have already reviewed it. This usually helps speed up the review process, as often the leader will say, “If John Doe has reviewed and approved this, I’m fine with it—please proceed.” Done!
6.  Call to action, v.2: Hopefully you’ve included a call to action in your subject line (“Review needed on memo by tomorrow”) but you need to repeat it again in your message – while making the call to action as clear and concise as possible.
7.  Review your Message Before you Hit Send: Check everything, as follows:

• • • The list of recipients in the “to” and “cc” fields (did you inadvertently add another leader into the cc line because you were checking to see how to spell his name? Make sure you delete him from the distribution!)
    • The subject line
    • Spelling
    • Missing words
    • Correct deadlines noted
    • Also try to objectively assess the tone of your email to ensure there’s nothing that can be taken the wrong way or misconstrued. If you’re unsure, have a trusted colleague review it and give you his or her reaction.

Email can be frustrating, but if you follow these steps, it should ensure that you are able to put your point across in a nimble, professional way, cut down on the back-and-forth conversations, and get an answer more quickly.