I Hate to Bother You, But Will You Please Read This?

“I know you’re busy and I really hate to bother you, but would you mind reading this article? I’m not sure if it will help or not, but it will probably take just a few minutes to read and I’m pretty sure you’ll like it. Thanks. I really appreciate it!”

You’re probably cringing as you read that. So did I when I wrote it.

But do you write your emails this way? Long-winded, apologetic, and full of suppositions, caveats, and extra exposition?

It is something I’m guilty of and regularly working to improve. The first draft of my emails usually sounds like that opening paragraph. Applying a few simple principles has helped tighten up my emails and make them easier to act on:

• Be prescriptive - Tell the person you are emailing exactly what you need or want them to do. Don’t leave them with questions or force them to interpret your intentions or request.

• Eliminate deadwood -  Deadwood construction includes unnecessary words or phrases that add nothing to the message. I can usually shorten a message by 30% - 40% by getting rid of filler words without losing any meaning.

• No need to be so apologetic - Yes, everyone is busy. It is called “work” for a reason. You need something, they need something, and eventually everyone needs something to get their jobs done. You can back off on “I hate to bother you, but…” or “I know you’re busy, but…” and use “Here’s what I need and by when.” instead.

I’m not sure how scientific this is, but over the years I’ve seen one pattern emerge. The higher people are on the corporate ladder, the shorter their emails become.

Most VP and executive emails look like this:

• “What is this?”

• “Get this done.”

• “Fix it.”

• And my all-time favorite: “?”

So, taking my own advice, here is the revised intro paragraph:

“Read this article. It’ll help.”

From 51 words down to 5!