Writing Effective Emails as a Manager

By focusing on clarity, conciseness, and strategic formatting, you can significantly increase the impact and effectiveness of your emails. This article will guide you through the essential elements of crafting compelling emails that get results, drawing on years of experience in professional communication coaching.

The BLUF Technique: Getting to the Point Quickly

One of the most effective strategies for persuasive email writing is the BLUF technique: Bottom Line Up Front. This approach involves stating your main point or request at the very beginning of your email, followed by supporting information and details.

The BLUF technique serves several purposes. First, it respects your recipient's time by immediately conveying the essence of your message. Second, it sets the context for the rest of your email, allowing the reader to process subsequent information through the lens of your main point. Finally, it increases the likelihood that your key message will be seen and remembered, even if the recipient only skims the email.

To implement the BLUF technique effectively, start your email with a clear, concise statement of your main point or request. This could be a single sentence or a short paragraph, depending on the complexity of your message. Follow this with a brief overview of why this point is important or how it benefits the recipient. Then, provide any necessary background information, supporting details, or next steps.

With BLUF, you use the principle of reciprocity to provide up-front.

Crafting Your Message: The Art of Clarity and Concision

Now that we've laid the psychological groundwork, let's focus on the actual content of your email. The cornerstone of persuasive writing is clarity. Your message should be crystal clear, leaving no room for misinterpretation or confusion.

Start by defining your objective. What specific action do you want the recipient to take after reading your email? Keep this goal in mind as you write, and make sure every sentence contributes to achieving it. Avoid the temptation to include extraneous information or tangential points, no matter how interesting they may seem.

Concision is equally important. Most long-winded emails are often skimmed or ignored entirely. Aim to convey your message in as few words as possible without sacrificing clarity or essential details. This doesn't mean your emails should be abrupt or lacking in courtesy; rather, it's about making every word count.

One effective technique is to write your email, then review it with a critical eye, asking yourself: "If I had to cut this email in half, which parts would I keep?" This exercise can help you identify and eliminate unnecessary content, resulting in a more impactful message.

Creating Clarity - Amazon's Writing Principles

Amazon famously has a very writing heavy culture and they have some specific internal recommendations on how to structure writing. Their in-house writing tips include

• Use less than 30 words per sentence
• Replace adjectives with data (e.g, we made significant progress on our goal, "We achieved 70% of our target for q3")
• Eliminate weasel words (e.g, Nearly all pro users, "93% of Pro Plan Customers")
• Pass the "So What" test (State how the things that you are stating matters)
• If you get a question, reply with one of the four answers - Yes / No / A Number / I don't know (and follow up when you do know)
• Eliminate buzzwords and explain acronyms and technicals the first time they appear

Additional Elements to Create Clarity

Avoid adding "Clutter Words". These are words or phrases that don't add significant meaning or value to a sentence and can be removed without changing the core meaning. These words often creep into writing and clutter the text, making it wordy, repetitive, or lacking in clarity and conciseness. Eliminating clutter words tightens your writing style.

Here are some common examples of clutter words:

• Redundant phrases: "Close proximity," "free gift," "past history," "true fact."
• Unnecessary modifiers: "Very unique," "really good," "totally complete."
• Filler words: "Well," "basically," "actually," "really," "quite," "just."
• Vague qualifiers: "Sort of," "kind of," "somewhat," "rather," "pretty much."-
• Overused adverbs: "Really," "very," "just," "literally."
• Overused phrases: "In order to," "due to the fact that," "for the reason that," "the reason is because."
• Meaningless intensifiers: "Absolutely essential," "completely finished," "totally flabbergasted."
• Empty introductions: "It is important to note that," "The fact of the matter is," "It should be noted that."

By identifying and eliminating these clutter words from your writing, you can make your sentences more concise, direct, and impactful.

Structuring Your Email for Maximum Impact

Beyond the BLUF technique, the overall structure of your email plays a crucial role in its persuasiveness. A well-organized email guides the reader through your argument or proposal logically, making it easier for them to follow your reasoning and ultimately agree with your position.

Start with a compelling subject line that accurately reflects the content and urgency of your message. Avoid vague subject lines like "Quick question" or "Follow-up." Instead, be specific and action-oriented, such as "Proposal for Q3 Marketing Strategy - Decision Needed by Friday."

In the body of your email, use short paragraphs and clear headings to break up the text and make it more scannable. Each paragraph should focus on a single idea or point, building on the previous one to create a coherent narrative.

The Art of the Call to Action

Even the most persuasively written email will fall short if it doesn't clearly articulate what you want the recipient to do next. This is where a strong call to action (CTA) comes into play.

Your CTA should be specific, actionable, and easy to understand. Instead of vague requests like "Let me know what you think," opt for clear directives such as "Please review the attached proposal and confirm your approval by EOD Friday."

Managers should craft emails that inspire action. Whether you're communicating a new initiative, delegating tasks, providing feedback, or requesting updates, the right email can be the difference between a message that gets lost in the noise and one that drives results.

When managing down to your reports, it might make sense at times to be more directive (i.e, telling what needs to be done by whom and by when) and when managing up, it might make sense to offer suggestions on what your recommend should happen.

For example, "Our Data Science team already has the right personnel, all we need are more resources for training data. My recommendation would be that instead of adding headcount, we use the next years budget to get more compute resources for data training.".

The Importance of Tone and Language

The tone of your email can significantly impact its persuasiveness. Strike a balance between professionalism and approachability, adapting your tone to suit your relationship with the recipient and the nature of your request.

Use active voice to make your writing more direct and impactful. Instead of saying "The proposal was reviewed by the team," say "The team reviewed the proposal." This not only sounds more confident but also clarifies who is responsible for the action.

Be mindful of the words you choose. Opt for positive language that focuses on solutions and benefits rather than problems or limitations. For example, instead of saying "If you don't approve this budget, we won't be able to meet our targets," try "Approving this budget will enable us to exceed our targets."

Avoid overly complex language or jargon unless you're certain the recipient is familiar with it. Clear, straightforward language is almost always the right way to go.

Conclusion

People lack time and attention and might just skim your email at first pass. Make it easy for them to understand what you want to communicate in the email. Focus on clarity and conciseness.

You keep in mind these points, and structure your emails accordingly, you'll be more effective in your email communication.