Email probably wastes more time than any other activity in the modern office. Email is just easy to send and easy to copy everyone without thinking about who needs the communication. Yet, as easy as it is to communicate via email, it is not always effective. Today we will explore seven steps for making your email more effective.

“That writer does the most, who gives his reader the most knowledge, and takes from him the least time.” Charles Caleb Colton

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Seven Steps to More Effective Email

Step 1 – Define the purpose of the email

• General information
• Providing or requesting information
• Answering a question
• Asking for something
• Setting a meeting
• Follow-up on a previous discussion

Step 2 – Draft the email text first (before adding addresses)

• Start with purpose
• Define what actions I want the reader to take
• Define how I want the reader to respond

Step 3 – Ask yourself “Is it really needed?”

• Is it important?
• Is it helpful?
• Who should get it?

Step 4 – Review the email draft and edit

• Read it aloud
• Does it portray your brand?
  • leader
  • communicator
  • problem solver
  • whiner
• Spell check
• If you are replaying or forwarding, verify you are not sending sensitive information.

Step 5 – Add addressees in the to, cc, and bcc fields

• Who do I CC?
• Do I CC myself?

Step 6 – Hit send 

Step 7 – Stage followup activity

• Was it a delegation?
• Am I expecting something in return?
• Have I committed to a future action?
• Do I need to file the CC

References for Effective Communication Via Email

• Twitter’s #inboxzero
• UAB’s Information Engineering and Management (IEM)
• Getting Things Done by David Allen