Writing E-mails That Have a Clear Purpose

Natalie Canavor and Claire Meirowitz

We’ve become a nation of scanners. We screen every incoming message for relevance and importance, and if we decide to read it, usually give it a rapid review and stop as soon as we feel we’ve gotten the gist. Beyond the fact that there are so many demands on our attention, we don’t like reading a lot of text on screen, and there are physical reasons for this—it tires our eyes.

Take this into account in crafting your e-mails. Here are some things to keep in mind.

E-mail Do’s

• Put the bottom line on top. Don’t make people guess why you’re writing or what you want.

• Take the time to write strong subject lines that work as leads and clearly identify the subject—which ...

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