From the course: Time Management Tips

Power tips for sending email

From the course: Time Management Tips

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Power tips for sending email

- Email is an essential part of getting more done in our day. Yet, some people feel like it's too much a part of their day and it's hard to use. Compared to the way things were done in the past, email is powerful. But, we need to use it properly. In this video, I want to give you some tips to get the most from email, and the way that I'm going to do that is by starting at the top of a typical email and work our way down to the bottom. So, first, at the top is that Reply versus Reply To All button, and they're too close together. Often, people click Reply To All when they really should click Reply. Be careful when hitting that button, because if you hit Reply To All, it may cause unnecessary interruptions for too many people. Also, moving on to the To section, you want to prune out names if possible. So, if there's a long list of names that you're going to send that email to, remove anyone that isn't absolutely necessary. And if you're going to include someone in the CC or Carbon Copy, explain to them in the body of the email why you're sending this email to them. For instance, if I include my assistant Fay, I'm going to add a little note that explains why she's getting this email. Now, let's move on to the Subject line of the email. Often, you'll have a long conversation about one particular subject, and then it will shift subjects, yet the subject line of the email stays the same. You want to change that subject line to something that's more appropriate to the topic that you're discussing. Now, moving on to the body of the email, keep your email brief, using only bullet points if possible. Using bullet points calls out the important details of the email. We've all had that experience where we've either sent or received an email that's a long wall of text, and often in that situation, we miss out on important points. Bullet points helps resolve that issue. Also, think about the fold, particularly on a mobile phone. Now, in website design, the fold is that point at which someone has to scroll to see the rest of the screen. In an email, if you have to have people scroll on their phones to see all of the body of the email, odds are, you're including too much detail. Now, moving on to the Send button. Before you click Send, count to ten. What are you doing during that counting? Well, you're reviewing the mistakes that you may have made, you're spell checking, you're thinking for a moment, and making sure that you're sending this email in a calm fashion, rather than firing off some overly emotional email. During that counting to ten, you can correct those mistakes, or perhaps save that email for a more appropriate time. If you're looking for more tips to help you be more productive with email, I encourage you to check out my time management fundamentals course here on the library. Email can help make your day more productive and get things done quicker as long as you use it appropriately

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