The Gettysburg Address was 271 words long.
Yesterday, I received an email on a company policy change regarding coffee and tea selection that was 350.
I know—coffee’s important. But if Lincoln was able to eloquently tell a divided nation about the importance of humanity and equality in 271 words, I think we should be able to send work-related emails that are just a little bit shorter.
A lot of times, we’re afraid to be brief in emails because we don’t want to sound mean, or because we think we need to give a lot of information or directions to get our point across. And that’s fair. But I think we’d all agree that less email would make our working lives a whole lot easier. And that starts with making each one just a little bit shorter.
Here’s a quick and easy guide to keeping your emails short and sweet (without sounding like a jerk).
Cut the Fluff
I get a lot of emails that start off with fluff. And while, sure, it’s pleasant, it can also be a waste of time, especially if I don’t really know you, or if I’m going to see you in a meeting at 4 PM.
In other words, you don’t need to start every email telling people that you hoped they had a good weekend. Unless you’re truly reaching out to someone to catch up, let’s just assume that we all hope everyone had a good weekend, is looking forward to the upcoming one, and is generally doing well. And then get down to business.
Cut Out Extra Words
We all add extra words to our writing from time to time for a variety of reasons. It makes the transitions smoother. It softens tough language. Sometimes, it makes us sound smarter.
In email, though, your job is not to craft the world’s most perfect letter, it’s to communicate quickly and easily. In fact, I challenge you to remove any words or phrases that aren’t absolutely necessary.
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