How to open a work email so it gets answered
Put the decision you need in the first line, the reason in the second, and everything else below. A before and after from our week 2 session.
Ruth Calloway
5 min read
Most work emails open with context: what happened, who said what, why it matters. The reader has to get to the fourth line to find out what you need from them, and many never do.
The fix is to reverse the order. Line one is the ask, with a deadline. Line two is the single most important reason. Everything else goes below, for the reader who wants it.
Before: Over the last quarter the team explored several options for the onboarding flow, and after a lot of discussion we think the two-step version is best. After: Approve the two-step onboarding by Friday so we can ship it in the October release. Here is why.
Try it on the next three emails you send. Most students tell us they get answers the same day.
The next cohort of Writing that gets read starts October 20
Forty seats, a group of six, line edits on every draft. Applications take five minutes and most students expense it.
Live cohort courses in writing and speaking for people who do it at work. Small groups, line edits, six weeks at a time.
Taught live from Chicago, Austin, Portland and Seattle
Lyceum