Responding to someone’s email is a common courtesy. Unfortunately, other people don’t always acknowledge what they find in their inbox.
We’ve all been there – working on a project that requires another person’s input – where he or she doesn’t respond to your emails.
Hours turn into days, and eventually you have to make that uncomfortable phone call. Assuming your message didn’t end up in a spam folder, it is very possible that you were being ignored (or at least disregarded) by your email’s recipient the whole time.
Ideally, we would like to avoid this. But perhaps the first step is realizing that you have a problem in how you construct your emails.
Below are five tips to help you get your emails read:
1) Identify a single, specific recipient. Everybody likes to feel special. But seriously, addressing the message to 10 people makes it either look like spam or unimportant. It also takes away the sense of urgency, because involving multiple people diffuses responsibility. If you want to include a bunch of people, use the CC line.
2) Get to the point. This isn’t school, so you’re not being forced to adhere to an inflated word count. Concisely say what you need to say.
3) Format effectively. People are more likely to read short blocks of text than long paragraphs. Perhaps bold or italicize important words to draw attention to parts of your message that you want to emphasize.
4) Make it easy on the reader. Make sure you are very clear on what you need, when you need it, and who should provide it. If you are directing him or her to an outside source, you might even want to provide a link!
5) Be polite. This should go without saying, but in an email the following old phrase rings true: it’s not what you say, but how you say it.