Email Checklists – 23 Ways to Write Effective Emails
Many workers learn how to write emails on the job. When we’re first out of school, we’re learning how to apply book knowledge to real world projects and tasks. It’s assumed that we know how to write business emails. Only when we annoy or disappoint our boss with a poorly written or inappropriate email, do we get feedback on the company’s email etiquette. Whether you’re new to office life or looking for ways to improve your email skills, check out David Silverman and Rita McGrath’s posts
- “How to Revise an Email So That People Will Read It†by David Silverman
- “Rita’s Rules for Emails†by Rita McGrath
Silverman and McGrath offer their email checklists that we can apply to writing and revising emails within our company. Silverman offers an insightful approach to email revisions that should occur before you hit “Send.†Regarding email revisions, Silverman has develop the following rule of thumb:
I’ve found that for your average email, the number of revisions largely depends on the number of recipients. Here’s my experience:
- 1 to 5 recipients = 2 to 4 revisions
- 5 to 10 recipients = 8 to 12 revisions
- Company-wide or to Executive Committee = 30 to 50 revisions
For those of you with OCD or ADHD, you probably have revisions down pat, so disregard. For those of us, who aren’t fortunate to have that magical combination of OCD/ADHD, here’s Silverman’s 10-point email checklist:
- Delete redundancies
- Use numbers and specifics instead of adverbs and adjectives
- Add missing context
- Focus on the strongest argument
- Delete off-topic material
- Seek out equivocation and remove it
- Kill your favorites
- Delete anything written in the heat of emotion
- Shorten
- Give it a day
McGrath’s checklist is a slightly different take on email etiquette, covering more how-to’s, content appropriateness, and when to use email versus making a phone call. Below is her 10-point checklist:
- Meaningful subject lines that tell the reader what to expect
- No email should ever be longer than one screen of information
- One subject per email
- Email is the wrong place for emotional outbursts
- Email is the wrong place for communications of a personal nature
- Assume everything you put in an email could end up on the front page of the New York Times and be accordingly discreet
- Find ways of making sending you email you don’t need to see more costly to the sender
- Because you sent it doesn’t mean I got it. Because I got it doesn’t mean I read it
- Mrs. Johnson in first grade was right – spelling and grammar count
- Don’t send email when a short phone call would do the job better
I would to three additional items to Silverman and McGrath’s checklists:
Use Bullets, not Paragraphs
Scanning is easier than reading full paragraphs. Break down your paragraphs into bullets when you’re listing a series of items or supporting ideas.
One Person in the To Box
One for my former CEOs had a pet peeve. Nothing drove him crazier than to see emails with more than one name in the To box. He said “When I receive emails with more than one name in the To box, I don’t easily know who’s accountable for action items follow-up. If next steps and by whom the next steps should be completed by are not spelled out in the email, then how do I know things are getting done?†This made sense to me.
Smart Lemming tip: make sure you spell out action items, due dates, and other specific details, preferably in a bullet format.
Add “Action Item” of “Next Step” in Subject Box
For the busy boss, direct reports should include the terms “Action Items” or “Next Step” in the subject box. I used to ask my direct reports to do this and add a 2-day reminder to email. This not only signaled that I had to act, but I knew the deadline that my team needed me to complete the task. This little email trick made our team function better, since they weren’t waiting around for me to do an archeological dig in my Inbox to for their emails. I knew when they needed me to complete my part of the project or when to approve something.
Smart Lemming tip: ask your boss if they would like you to add “Action Item†or “Next Step,†in the subject line. Don’t assume because it they may find it presumptuous on your part to tell them what to do and when to do it.
For newbies, check out Silverman and McGrath’s posts. Learn it and execute on it. For vets, it’s never too late to improve our email skills.
Recommended Reading List
- Send: Why People Email So Badly and How to Do It Better, Revised Edition
- E-Mail: A Write It Well Guide–How to Write and Manage E-Mail in the Workplace
- Email: The Manual: Everything You Should Know About Email Etiquette, Policies and Legal Liability Before You Hit Send
Thanks the email list. No one told me how to write emails at the start of carer. This list would have saved me some embarrassment.