How to ensure I don't delete your email

How hard is it to write quality communications? If you asked me that question I would say not hard at all. The fundamentals of communication are pretty basic, yet it never fails to amaze me how many perfectly intelligent and competent adults are such poor communicators! One of the most important and simple reasons is because people fail to pay attention to the quality.

What do I mean when I say quality? Easy. When communicating in either verbal or written form quality means that your message is accurate, timely, relevant, concise and brief! No one has time to read novel length communications.

I can't tell you how many emails I receive where the sender is asking for something, however because they feel the need to write a long winded novel I usually end up either deleting it or saving it for later; like when I retire.

Just last week I was the recipient of a document that contained so many spelling errors I was embarrassed for the sender. And this document went out to over 100 people!

And to give an example of poor quality of the other extreme, this morning I received an email with an attachment, no subject in the heading and no supplementary information. What was I supposed to do with it? Naturally I deleted it. If it was important they will call......

So here are some simple guidelines that I follow when writing communications.

Emails

• Add a subject that is relevant to the content. It helps if you later have to search for it.
  
• Provide one or two lines of background information such as how it all started. Tell me the story (a very very short story) behind your request. It will help provide context.
  
• State your request as simply as you can. One or two lines should do. If it takes more than that you should probably call or meet.
• Explain what is the impact of doing or not doing?
  
• List any benefits to the recipient. It always helps you to get what you need.
• Provide a due date and explain why. Also describe the impact of missing the date. If I receive a request with no due date it suggests it is not a priority and goes to the bottom of my list of things to do.
• End your request with a one line summary of your need and give thanks in advance.
  

In General

• Use spell check.
• Read what you've written before you share. Spell check can't differentiate between similar words.
  
• Always add a date to your documentation. You need to know how old it is and therefore if it is still relevant.
  
• Read it over before you send it. Pretend you are some guy off the street. You need to know if it makes sense from someone else 's perspective.

I feel much better now.

Something to ponder: 'I try to leave out the parts that people skip'. ~Elmore Leonard