The 4 Steps to Writing Better Email Replies
Avoid unnecessary back-and-forth by getting your reply right the first time
Today’s communication channels, which encourage speed and immediacy, can create misunderstandings, broken commitments and annoying feelings of disrespect. When a workplace is burdened with missed, rushed or criss-crossing messages, collaboration is hindered, leading to widespread inaction or worse, chaos.
Tom emails his boss, “Do you want to speak Wednesday or Thursday?
His boss responds, “Yes.”
When does Tom’s boss want to meet? We don’t know, and neither does Tom.
The average office worker receives 121 emails and responds to over 61 emails per day.
Given the sheer magnitude of messages we receive daily, coupled with expectations for speedy communication, it makes sense that we’re prone to take shortcuts and leave out context in our messages. And a lot of times, these brief messages cause confusion and misunderstandings, resulting in tarnished office or client relationships.
The gaps we all experience in response times bring with them another problem, namely, that circumstances can change dramatically before we’ve gotten an answer to the first email we sent. In addition, our need for a…
