Email overload: How to ensure your emails are read and acted on

Prolog: Wait a minute, Mr. Postman.

Ding! A new email. Pavlovian conditioning makes you drop everything and check it out. Let’s see. One long paragraph. Uh-huh. Another longer paragraph. Yeah. Some numbers, dates and more information. Ok. Scroll further down, all the way to the bottom. Hmm: not quite sure what I should do, so I’ll take care of it later…

Situation: Emails are a communication staple, but often too long.

On average, an office worker receives ca. 120 business emails per day. I’ve found that long emails are often not read properly. As the main message(s) cannot quickly be found in a long text, these emails often get filed away for later reading and action. This can result in the recipients responding in a wrong way, responding late, or not responding at all.

Option: Write emails with only six sentences or less.

To make sure your emails are read and acted on, limit the text to six sentences or less. If additional information is required, attach it as a document.

Pros: higher chance of email being read thoroughly; forces the writer to really concentrate on the main messages, actions and take-aways; additional information can be added in attachments; decreases time needed to write and respond to emails – increasing productivity; younger co-workers are used to shorter (text) messages.

Cons: could be perceived as impolite by some cultures; short emails may be equated with less importance.

Take-away: Write emails with six sentences or less for more effective email communication.

John Guenther Consulting helps international companies reach their marketing business goals through interim assignments in leadership and project management roles. John is a seasoned marketing executive with 25 years of marketing & sales experience in global roles and diverse industries. His focus is on B2B marketing, transformation of marketing organizations, optimization of marketing & sales cooperation, brand management and agile leadership of complex marketing projects. Learn more at www.john-guenther-consulting.de.

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