Right Message

Think smart before you hit ‘send’.

- Dianna Booher

Email saves an enormous amount of time for those who think strategically. For those who do not, the back-and-forth clutter can clog up their inbox for hours or days. Let us assume you fall into the strategic-thinkers group that likes the one-and-done email plan.

My new book Faster, Fewer, Better Emails: Manage the Volume, Reduce the Stress, and Love the Results introduces the following strategic questions to guide your thinking process before you start to compose.

Here are five smart questions before you write the first word of your email.

Who needs a copy?

Instead of composing an email about a situation or topic and then deciding who should get a copy, reverse the process. Consider who has interest in the situation: one reader? Your project team? The entire client organisation? If you are writing outside your organisation, will your client or vendor likely pass your email on to still other advisors for input, decision, or action?