Bookmark article
Follow article
Email to a friend
Share 
Great article Jason - you offer up some really useful, little known tips we can use to improve our email campaigns. Thank you!
Greatly helpful
out of 10
14 votes
Are You Sending Effective (Action-Oriented and Clear) Emails?
People I work with receive 50-200 emails a day. How do they handle all of that volume?
Written Aug 10, 2010, read 5590 times since then.
What is YOUR breaking point? How much is too much? When you reach that limit, what is your natural tendency?
According to an article in the USA Today newspaper (link here), once some people get a certain number of emails per day...things change. One way to get a handle on your email is to start "sending" smarter email...
I see it all the time: An inbox that goes on...and on...and on. When I sit down with a client to discuss their Workplace Performance, we always address the inflow (and overflow!?!?) of email. Often, people want to talk about prioritization, focus and productivity. To begin the discussion, we first study HOW they communicate.
Based on hundreds of hours of working one-on-one with executives worldwide, here are some of the "best practices" I continue to share. Of course, we encourage you to tweak and change them, so they can work for you...
Think about the "5 Fields of an Outgoing Email." There are 5 places you get to add information. Make sure that each field is complete, clear and necessary!
- Clarify who has the next step by putting only their email address in the TO: field
- Include other people who just need the information (but no action) in the CC: field
- Use the BCC: for large group messages (announcements, etc)
- Write subject lines that clarify WHO needs to do WHAT by WHEN
- Be tight with your commentary in the body of the email. People read the first paragraph, skim the second, and ignore the third (genearally).
Just using the "5 FIELDS" of email (TO:, CC:, BCC:, SUBJECT:, BODY) effectively will cut down on the time YOU spend on email, and speed up the time THEY can respond to you.
Simply putting a verb in an outgoing subject line (review...print...file...add to calendar...etc) can significantly change the amount of time people spend opening, re-reading, and closing the same email!
Of course, all of that is for your OUTGOING email; helping your coworkers, clients, vendors and managers work more effectively with you. What about your own inbox? Well, here's a tip to help you out right away...
------------> Did you know it's possible to change the subject line of an email you received? (in Microsoft® Outlook® or Lotus Notes.)
I can almost hear you asking: "Why would you want to do that?"
Have you ever opened an email, read it, closed it, and filed it...then, not been able to file it again? If you "tag" the subject line, with words that you might think of later, it will make it easier to find when you're looking.
If you're looking to save time with emails and get a little more control over your inbox, edit the subject lines of your incoming messages. Be sure to include:
+ WHAT needs to be done (use an action verb)
+ WHO is doing it
+ WHERE you will need to be or go
+ WHEN the action or check in should take place
When you're sending, when you're receiving, and when you're discussing email, make sure that everyone is "on the same screen." Here's a possible takeaway from this article:
Schedule a 45-minute meeting with the 5 people who email you the MOST. Have an in-depth conversation on this question:
"How can we use email most effectively together?"
Learn more about the author, Jason Womack.
Comment on this article
-
Posted by Jason Womack, Ojai, California |Aug 11, 2010 Norma,
Thanks for the comment and kudos! I hope this article does help others, as the ideas have really helped me over the years!
-
Posted by Brenda Spandrio, Sequim, Washington |Aug 11, 2010 Excellent advice for managing outgoing e-mail! The one thing I would add is to be sure to retain the thread if you are replying to e-mails. Too often I receive a response without the context!
-
Posted by Dan Leavitt, Marblehead, Massachusetts |Aug 12, 2010 Great advice Jason. So many people focus on "filter" this and "categorize" that, but at the end of the day you're just moving content around. Your approach actually helps people limit incoming and outgoing emails, which is a much more sustainable long-term solution. Keep up the great work!
-
Posted by Dan Leavitt, Marblehead, Massachusetts |
Aug 12, 2010 Great advice Jason. So many people focus on "filter" this and "categorize" that, but at the end of the day you're just moving content around. Your approach actually helps people limit incoming and outgoing emails, which is a much more sustainable long-term solution. Keep up the great work!
-
Posted by Jason Womack, Ojai, California |
Aug 12, 2010 Brenda, I agree...completely. Over the years, I've become so accustomed to "Googling" something online, that I wanted that same power within my email. So, I "tag" the subject lines, and then I can find/file/find anything!
-
Posted by Jason Womack, Ojai, California |
Aug 12, 2010 Dan,
Thanks! I appreciate you reading this, and commenting on it as well.
Question: Any other "workplace performance topics" you'd like me to write about?
-
Posted by Dan Leavitt, Marblehead, Massachusetts |
Aug 12, 2010 Jason - I would say an increasingly relevant topic is what I like to call the "communication hierarchy". In a world of texts, tweets, emails, phone calls, and instant messages, what is the best way to contact someone given a certain set of circumstances. I'd be interested in your thoughts.
I'm always amazed at the number of people who hide behind email as their sole form of communication.
-
Posted by David Kimball, Delhi, California |Aug 12, 2010 Very action orient and clear. Picked up a couple of nuggets here.
-
Posted by Marie Haggberg, Seattle, Washington |Aug 17, 2010 Thanks for a great article. The "no no" I have encountered all too often is using email to convey complex project planning or business rule information during a software development effort. Important content, wrong place...
-
Posted by Nancy LaMont, Marysville, Washington |Sep 17, 2010 Jason, thank you for sharing your article. Though I try to always practice these time saving tips there are times when I am in a hurry and don't follow these tips.
Your article is a good reminder for me that taking one extra minute to change the subject line will save me and others valuable time.
Article tags
- organization
- productivity
Jason's other articles
Related Articles
