I am in the same boat with the deluge. It really comes down to valuing other people's time, and making sure you are clear in your message.
Bob
· 1 year ago
Amen Chris, the amount of time that is wasted in my office while others try to figure out the action required from the email is immense. The same goes with meetings in my office. Most people only put a vague subject line without an agenda or letting me know what is required from me when I step in the room. In the end we send 10x the number of correspondence needed and 20x the amount of time on a project.
There has to be a smarter way. Wouldn't it be awesome if there was an email client in which you could assign an action to a person? The actions could fall into some sort of to-do list. Or if the email client was smart enough to lead the person to the most effective email.
Great piece, I'm going to implement the subject line idea into my work environment.
~bob
Shashi Bellamkonda
· 1 year ago
Hi Chris,
We think alike. I have had my share of bosses and as soon as I move to their fiefdom I train them on my email subject lines. ACT : need an answer ASAP ARTICLE INFO: Something that I saw online read at your leisure. INFO : CCing you on something that u have a choice to read or ignore BREAKING NEWS: All hell is breaking loose we need to talk JOKE: Sending you a PJ please do not read in a meeting.
Usually ACT and Joke gets me the quickest response :)
Cheers !
Shashi ( PS: I can only hope my bosses don't read the comments . Well if they do they can pormote me for efficiency and thinking outside the box)
MCWFlint
· 1 year ago
I would like every email to include the writer's phone number so I can easily call when I don't understand something. A street address for businesses is nice.
My general rule is stop emailing after the third exchange and pick a different mode of communication - call, walk over, or ...
The other advice I share in my Using Email Effectively classes/lectures: what if this email ended up on the front page of my local newspaper? Would I write differently? Would I write it dow?
doughaslam
· 1 year ago
Chris, great post-- and if I may, much of this is what I did say-- or ought to have said-- after my "Email is dead" rant back on Thanksgiving. Excellent summing-up.
Alanagh Recreant
· 1 year ago
NO ACTION REQUIRED: Love this post; thank you!
Steve Ellwood
· 1 year ago
I'm just surprised you didn't mention cc: My major hatred is those who issue enormous cc lists as CYA fare. Two managers I know automatically mark as read and file anything that's cc'd to them. "If they wanted me to read it, they should have sent it TO me . They know if they did send it TO me, I'd say 'Why did you send this to me?'"
Jared Goralnick
· 1 year ago
Chris,
This is really excellent advice--and I hope to comment on it on my blog soon. Since you requested, here's an article I wrote recently about how to CANCEL AND RESCHEDULE via email, it discusses both etiquette (like you) as well as the specific points to include:
I think a key thing to bear in mind is Voice. email works well when it's 'you' talking to 'me'. I don;t mean forced informality, let alone fake personality. I mean talk to me in words as you would in real life. Direct, clear and human. It doesn;t take the place of the document you want me to comment on or decision you want me to make, it frames it within the discourse of relationships - which is at the heart of the conversation economy.
Julia
· 1 year ago
What a great post - we all have issues with email! The only other thing that I recommend when it comes to email is that if you are using outlook or any program that auto-completes emails, to always double check who you are sending the email to. You don't want to end up being this guy. Thanks again for the wonderful post and great advice!
Erica
· 1 year ago
KUDOS: this post is clear, timely and helpful
Need I say more? Yes. Thanks, Chris
@MCWFlint re: #7, like the phone number idea!
Chris Thomson
· 1 year ago
Thanks Chris! I had this type of post on my todo list, because so many people forget to put a useful subject in emails to me. It really annoys me...
Thanks for the great post :)
Jane Quigley
· 1 year ago
This is great, Chris - I needed a boost to do exactly this. With my boss I've started to put the major point in the subject line when it's important - this system looks so much more professional and as Geoff commented, places value on peoples time.
Ainsworth Boyle
· 1 year ago
I've always stuck with the 5 sentence rule in e-mail: keep it to 5 sentences or less. But it's interesting, I've never thought of utilizing the subject line.
It seems like this would go really well with the thought of writing the subject line last. By the end of your e-mail you know the goal... put it in the subject.
Great post!
Dayngr
· 1 year ago
I used to be one of those people who came into companies and taught people how to use their new email clients. My basic guidelines were simple:
1. Don't put it in an email if you'd be embarassed if your mother read it.
2. Don't put it in an email if you wouldn't want your boss reading it.
3. Don't put it in an email if you wouldn't want it shared with the public (because it very well could be one day!).
I'd also suggest brevity, it works. Try it.
I think it is important to read your email carefully before sending it. Not just for typos etc. but to check how you're coming across. You certainly wouldn't want to be misunderstood.
Use cc's and bcc's appropriately for the sake of everyone's sanity.
Finally, don't email someone a few steps away from you unless it HAS to be in writing. That's just silly and a huge waste of time and enery.
Dayngr
· 1 year ago
I used to be one of those people who came into companies and taught people how to use their new email clients. My basic guidelines were simple:
1. Don't put it in an email if you'd be embarrassed if your mother read it.
2. Don't put it in an email if you wouldn't want your boss reading it.
3. Don't put it in an email if you wouldn't want it shared with the public (because it very well could be one day!).
I'd also suggest brevity, it works. Try it.
I think it is important to read your email carefully before sending it. Not just for typos etc. but to check how you're coming across. You certainly wouldn't want to be misunderstood.
Use cc's and bcc's appropriately for the sake of everyone's sanity.
Finally, don't email someone a few steps away from you unless it HAS to be in writing. That's just silly and a huge waste of time and energy.
It was a concise and useful article posted by you, covering all the aspects of business communication. Reminding about being monitored while sending mails was an important point.
thanks !
Dan Barrett
· 5 months ago
A very little thing, but i like to think it helps: i put our company name (bragster) in brackets somewhere in the subject line of my emails to clients, to make it more recognisable, and easier to find by search.
All Comments
There has to be a smarter way. Wouldn't it be awesome if there was an email client in which you could assign an action to a person? The actions could fall into some sort of to-do list. Or if the email client was smart enough to lead the person to the most effective email.
Great piece, I'm going to implement the subject line idea into my work environment.
~bob
We think alike. I have had my share of bosses and as soon as I move to their fiefdom I train them on my email subject lines.
ACT : need an answer ASAP
ARTICLE INFO: Something that I saw online read at your leisure.
INFO : CCing you on something that u have a choice to read or ignore
BREAKING NEWS: All hell is breaking loose we need to talk
JOKE: Sending you a PJ please do not read in a meeting.
Usually ACT and Joke gets me the quickest response :)
Cheers !
Shashi
( PS: I can only hope my bosses don't read the comments . Well if they do they can pormote me for efficiency and thinking outside the box)
My general rule is stop emailing after the third exchange and pick a different mode of communication - call, walk over, or ...
The other advice I share in my Using Email Effectively classes/lectures: what if this email ended up on the front page of my local newspaper? Would I write differently? Would I write it dow?
My major hatred is those who issue enormous cc lists as CYA fare.
Two managers I know automatically mark as read and file anything that's cc'd to them.
"If they wanted me to read it, they should have sent it TO me . They know if they did send it TO me, I'd say 'Why did you send this to me?'"
This is really excellent advice--and I hope to comment on it on my blog soon. Since you requested, here's an article I wrote recently about how to CANCEL AND RESCHEDULE via email, it discusses both etiquette (like you) as well as the specific points to include:
How to cancel or respond to cancellations via email
Thanks again for such a helpful article!
Need I say more?
Yes.
Thanks, Chris
@MCWFlint re: #7, like the phone number idea!
Thanks for the great post :)
It seems like this would go really well with the thought of writing the subject line last. By the end of your e-mail you know the goal... put it in the subject.
Great post!
1. Don't put it in an email if you'd be embarassed if your mother read it.
2. Don't put it in an email if you wouldn't want your boss reading it.
3. Don't put it in an email if you wouldn't want it shared with the public (because it very well could be one day!).
I'd also suggest brevity, it works. Try it.
I think it is important to read your email carefully before sending it. Not just for typos etc. but to check how you're coming across. You certainly wouldn't want to be misunderstood.
Use cc's and bcc's appropriately for the sake of everyone's sanity.
Finally, don't email someone a few steps away from you unless it HAS to be in writing. That's just silly and a huge waste of time and enery.
1. Don't put it in an email if you'd be embarrassed if your mother read it.
2. Don't put it in an email if you wouldn't want your boss reading it.
3. Don't put it in an email if you wouldn't want it shared with the public (because it very well could be one day!).
I'd also suggest brevity, it works. Try it.
I think it is important to read your email carefully before sending it. Not just for typos etc. but to check how you're coming across. You certainly wouldn't want to be misunderstood.
Use cc's and bcc's appropriately for the sake of everyone's sanity.
Finally, don't email someone a few steps away from you unless it HAS to be in writing. That's just silly and a huge waste of time and energy.
http://www.amazon.com/Send-Essential-Guide-Emai...
Reminding about being monitored while sending mails was an important point.
thanks !