Email is the preferred communication tool in the world of work. Emails provides a digital footprint – a threaded record – of ideas, requests, stories, and all the rest of it. Unfortunately, most of us really, really suck at writing them and we’re also not great at limiting how many we write.
About a month ago I read a great article by Tom Cochran called “Email Is Not Free” – long story short, Cochran details how “email pollution” was costing his company – he’s the CTO of Atlantic Media – over seven figures per year because of the time it took to read, write and organize hundreds (most people) and thousands (Cochran) of emails per week. The article argues that through a combination of open workspace design and tools (make it open so that conversations can replace emails and encourage employees to use instant messaging platforms like Yammer) and social engineering (pick up the phone), email pollution can be dramatically reduced if not eliminated altogether.
I work for a university and, for whatever reason, many people subscribe to a philosophy that longer is better – in fact, if footnotes were easily inserted into Outlook-based emails I think that a sizable minority of my colleagues would use them. So, let’s be honest: regardless of our office space, the cool tools we use, or how often we address complex problems over the phone or in-person, people are going to write emails.
This is why I found Todd Wasserman’s article about former Groupon CEO Adam Mason’s philosophy of 50-word emails so interesting. While flawed, challenging to implement, and pretty meaningless without some kind of industry-wide standard or thoughtful regulation, imposing a 50-word limit on all emails would bring a splendid combination of efficiency and eloquence to the world of digital communication. Here’s a great line about the value of succinctness from Wasserman’s piece:
Enforcing discipline would improve the content of most emails. There’s a timeworn case to be made that shorter is better. For instance, Mark Twain once apologized for writing a long letter because he didn’t have time to write a short one. Shakespeare also opined (via Polonius in Hamlet) that “brevity is the soul of wit.”
I’m a realist. Email is going to happen. You are going to be a part of the email pollution problem and I want your email as low-impact as possible (be a recycled paper cup, not a coal factory). My goal is to help you write awesome emails that are easily read and understood and that inspire the right action from your audience.
The Overwritten Email
Here is a pretty standard, explanatory email that is far too long.
Now. Let’s fix it.
The Re-Write
Here is my re-write of the above email that achieves ideal length, style and tone.
Aim for two paragraphs (excluding introductory and concluding niceties like “Hi!” and “Thanks!”) in your email. The first should outline/summarize your position – “Kurt, we’re meeting at Meat and Bread and we’ll be talking about these three things.” The second paragraph should ask-for/inspire action – “Kurt, I’m bringing a copy of a report, is there anything else that you need me to bring?”
The White Memo
Less is more. And it’s also hyper-efficient (though potentially cryptic and confusing).
Above is what one of my mentors refers to as “The White Memo” – it’s called such a thing because there is more white space than black text and it is hilariously brief, if not curt. Speaking of curt,I think Kurt Heinrich would vote for this one.
Yes, open, collaborative and communicative workspaces will foster more efficient and accurate communication. Social tools like Yammer, Dropbox, Google-based-things, Evernote, and all the good stuff my Digital Mentor Alex Samuel shares with the world will help your community communicate better, too.
Remember, though, when you enter the world of email people will respond more positively to your ideas when you keep them clear and concise and invite an action from them.