Better Business Writing: Ensuring Your Emails Get Read

“Didn’t you read my email!?” Sometimes sending an email can feel like throwing a paper airplane into a black hole. You don’t know if anyone will read it or even remember that it landed in their inbox. In fact, far too many leaders complain that they have to repeat messages they have already delivered several times. This may be because many employees admit to deleting emails without reading them — either because they are too busy or the sender has said nothing of value before, so why bother with their messages now?

Email is the primary form of communication in business these days. Present Exhibit A: the average size of an executive’s inbox. Given the amount of time we spend on email, we should all be experts, right? Wrong. In fact, very few people have mastered how to write an effective email. Writing clear and readable email messages is a critical skill for managers at all levels, and one worth spending time getting right.  Here are four tips for how to write an email that gets read, and understood:

1. Start with clear subject line. Your subject line is the first thing a reader sees. If it is confusing, too generic or irrelevant to him, he’s likely to delete it. Be clear about what is in the email and what you are asking the reader to do. For example, instead of saying something like “Meeting next week,” try “Scheduling Next Executive Team Meeting – Need Input on Agenda.” Your reader will know what to expect before opening the email. Never leave the subject line blank, even if you are in a rush.
2. Put your request at the beginning. Your email needs to have a purpose, otherwise why are you sending it? Know what you want your reader to do and state that call to action clearly at the beginning. Don’t bury the whole point of your email somewhere near the end.
3. Be brief and specific. Most people read their email on Blackberries or iPhones. If your message requires them to scroll endlessly, it’s not going to get read. If what you have to say can’t be said briefly, chunk up your message into paragraphs and use headers so that “scrollers” can get to the relevant parts more easily.
4. Edit! Email is an immediate form of communication but that doesn’t mean you have to send it straight away. It’s very unlikely that what you’ve written the first time through is going to be sufficient. Instead, edit emails as you would any other writing. Look your message over and delete redundancies, tighten up your sentences, and remove any irrelevant information. If it’s an important or sensitive message, ask someone else to look it over as well.

Read part one about finding your main point, and part two about avoiding common business writing errors.