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> If a reply is needed, they'll address either the first or last point raised. Never, ever all the points. Never completely. Use numbered short topics instead
by nottorp 2y ago
> If a reply is needed, they'll address either the first or last point raised. Never, ever all the points. Never completely.
Use numbered short topics instead of a wall of text, even if they're all in the same email. It usually gets me a lot more answers than something more prose like.
> I wonder if Slack is any better? Do folks respond better to one question at a time?
Post numbered short topics :)
- heurist 2y agoReally depends on who is responding. Emails that require a lot of effort to respond to are less likely to get a response in general, I've found.
- nottorp 2y agoPrying the answers you need out of your co workers and customers is a skill. I hate it but someone has to do it so it might as well be me. Repeat the unanswered questions, add helper questions etc. I've discovered no way to avoid it.
- ghaff 2y agoAs a writer I sort of hate it, but bullets--often in a slide format--tend to make more sense in a business setting. And, yes, shorter is generally better.
- safety1st 2y agoIt's also valuable to clarify why the information is needed. I don't really have problems getting information from somebody when I email them and the email starts with "We are unable to proceed with <the thing they care about> until we have answers to these questions: <numbered list here>" As someone who both sends and receives a lot of business email and who is very busy, frankly if your email isn't structured like this, or it's written as a long rambling essay or something, 99% of the time you shouldn't send it