WEBVTT - Write smarter 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 comes from a listener who discovered how to

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<v Speaker 1>write much more efficient emails. Email is a great tool

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<v Speaker 1>I love hearing from Before Breakfast listeners. For instance, email

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<v Speaker 1>can be sent and received at whatever time works for

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<v Speaker 1>the sender and recipient. This is very efficient, but email

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<v Speaker 1>can also cause a lot of confusion. People skim long

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<v Speaker 1>messages and miss the last line asking for what the

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<v Speaker 1>message was really about. Or people read a long message

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<v Speaker 1>trying to figure out what the sender wants, only to

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<v Speaker 1>get to the end and realize that the sender doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>need anything. The email could have been processed at a

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<v Speaker 1>less urgent time. In any case, Before Breakfast listener Peter

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<v Speaker 1>wrote in with an email format that he uses. It

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<v Speaker 1>forces the writer to be more thoughtful, gets to the

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<v Speaker 1>of the problem quickly, and allows the recipient to deal

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<v Speaker 1>with it efficiently and effectively. He says, here's how it goes. First,

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<v Speaker 1>put in the subject line what you want the recipient

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<v Speaker 1>to do with the email. Example phrases include for approval,

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<v Speaker 1>for info, for endorsement, for action, update to previous email

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<v Speaker 1>and so forth. After you've written what the person should

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<v Speaker 1>do with it, then you write the subject. Peter notes

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<v Speaker 1>that this allows the recipient to sort win to deal

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<v Speaker 1>with it. So an office refurbishment project, for instance, might

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<v Speaker 1>inspire an email with the subject for approval new furniture purchase.

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<v Speaker 1>Then you start the email with what Peter calls a

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<v Speaker 1>b l u F. Maybe we'll say that's a bluff

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<v Speaker 1>that stands for bottom line up front, one sentence only.

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<v Speaker 1>Our furniture email might contain the bluff seeking your approval

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<v Speaker 1>to purchase new office furniture in line with new office

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<v Speaker 1>plan budget. If this is all the recipient needs, Peter notes,

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<v Speaker 1>then he or she can just reply approved, No need

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<v Speaker 1>to wade through anything else to get to the action required.

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<v Speaker 1>Perhaps the person choosing furniture has done a great job

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<v Speaker 1>with the last round of furniture purchasing and it's not

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<v Speaker 1>worth the manager's time to wait into the details. All

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<v Speaker 1>is good. Email has been read quickly and responded too quickly.

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<v Speaker 1>Now if the situation needs more explanation, then the next

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<v Speaker 1>paragraph should be a what this is a one to

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<v Speaker 1>two sentence expansion on the bluff. Remember that's the bottom

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<v Speaker 1>line up front. After that you can include a so

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<v Speaker 1>what paragraph. Now this might not always be required, Peter notes,

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<v Speaker 1>but if the person receiving an email needs to know

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<v Speaker 1>why they're being asked or why this needs to be

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<v Speaker 1>done by a certain point, this paragraph can explain it.

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<v Speaker 1>Then the final paragraph contains the what next statement. This

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<v Speaker 1>describes the next required action. Probably this was explained in

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<v Speaker 1>the bottom line up front the bluff, but in case

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<v Speaker 1>there's any confusion, you can spell it out again here

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<v Speaker 1>and then you're done. I like Peter's approach, and I

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<v Speaker 1>think it's a good idea in general. For emails. There

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<v Speaker 1>is a place for long conversational notes, but when someone

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<v Speaker 1>gets two emails or more a day, that place is

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<v Speaker 1>probably not his or her inbox. Explaining exactly what you

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<v Speaker 1>need in the subject line and putting the bottom line

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<v Speaker 1>up front increases the chances that the email inspires the

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<v Speaker 1>action you desire. How do you make sure your emails

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<v Speaker 1>are efficient and effective? You can let me know by

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<v Speaker 1>email before Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. In

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<v Speaker 1>the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and here's

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<v Speaker 1>to making the most of our time. Hey everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>Facebook and Instagram at before Breakfast odd that's b E

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then breakfast p o D. You can

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

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<v Speaker 1>i heeart media dot com that before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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

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<v Speaker 1>visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever

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<v Speaker 1>you listen to your favorite shows.