WEBVTT - Label your emails

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura, Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is a strategy for sending better emails. Label

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<v Speaker 1>them in a way that let's recipients know what they're

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<v Speaker 1>being asked to do. Many of us get way too

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<v Speaker 1>much email. We send too many messages too, so some

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<v Speaker 1>organizations have developed protocols that help people know what's going on.

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<v Speaker 1>The idea is that you should use a label in

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<v Speaker 1>the subject line to let the reader know what's being

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<v Speaker 1>asked of him or her. Some examples include quick Question

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<v Speaker 1>of Possible Interest, f y I, Action requested, and so on.

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<v Speaker 1>The subject line of your email is the label, followed

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<v Speaker 1>by a colon and then a little more information. For instance,

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<v Speaker 1>quick question Inclement weather policy or f y I twenty

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<v Speaker 1>four applications received so far for Database Manager position. If

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<v Speaker 1>your message falls into the action requested category, it can

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<v Speaker 1>also be helpful to add a due date action requested

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<v Speaker 1>by March one your feedback on presentation sides. It makes sense,

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<v Speaker 1>but even if your organization doesn't expect such things, you

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<v Speaker 1>might still find it useful. For many emails. A clear

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<v Speaker 1>subject line including a label helps your recipients do what

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<v Speaker 1>they are supposed to do with your email amid the

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<v Speaker 1>myriad emails they receive. Because we all know what happens

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<v Speaker 1>with vaguely labeled emails. Something that says inclement weather policy

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<v Speaker 1>or applications for the database manager position looks like it

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<v Speaker 1>might just be for someone's information. They might not read

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<v Speaker 1>the message, assuming there's nothing needed, or it might be open,

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<v Speaker 1>scanned and clothes to be dealt with later, only to

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<v Speaker 1>be forgotten. This is a particular risk. If the message

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<v Speaker 1>is long, it may never get read and full, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is a problem if you are requesting something in

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<v Speaker 1>the last sentence. Now, I would advise that you not

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<v Speaker 1>write long and meandering messages. If a message is longer

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<v Speaker 1>than a few sentences, probably best to pick up the

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<v Speaker 1>phone or walk down the hall. But if you are

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<v Speaker 1>going to send such missives, best to make the purpose

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<v Speaker 1>of your emails clear and say what you want from

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<v Speaker 1>whoever is about to read your novel. As a side note,

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<v Speaker 1>a clean label also makes it easier to search for

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<v Speaker 1>a message if it is needed in the future. The

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<v Speaker 1>emails are just more precise. You don't have to sort

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<v Speaker 1>through a dozen messages about database manager you know, the

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<v Speaker 1>one you need is action requested, your approval of making

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<v Speaker 1>an offer to Jane Rogers for day a base manager position.

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<v Speaker 1>The message can be found and Jane gets approved. Progress

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<v Speaker 1>is achieved and that is a good thing. I am

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<v Speaker 1>just one bit of last advice about these emails, which

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<v Speaker 1>is more of a personal pet pave for me. But hey,

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<v Speaker 1>label them in a way that puts yourself in the

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<v Speaker 1>shoes of the recipient. A quick question isn't one that

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<v Speaker 1>is quick for you to ask, It is one that

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<v Speaker 1>is quick for the recipient to respond to. Labeling something

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<v Speaker 1>is a quick question when it is going to take

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<v Speaker 1>an hour to deal with is misleading. So don't do that.

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<v Speaker 1>And if you are sending something that is for someone's information,

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<v Speaker 1>don't then put a request for action buried somewhere in there.

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<v Speaker 1>That is a different label. But when everyone is clear

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<v Speaker 1>about what an email is going to involve, it is

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<v Speaker 1>more likely to get read. With the right action taken,

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<v Speaker 1>actual communication is achieved, which is really what all this

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<v Speaker 1>email is about. In the meantime, this is Laura, Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod.

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<v Speaker 1>That's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>I heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple podcast,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. Yeah m

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<v Speaker 1>hm