In one of my first newsletters on everyday writing tips, I spoke about how we all need to let our words ‘sit for a bit’ before sending them out. This concept resonated with Kelly Vyas, who asked me to expand upon it for this guest post.
Let’s face it; our day to day lives are not generally relaxing. While you’re trying to compose an email, you’re also thinking about the call you didn’t make, trying to catch the attention of your boss or employee and are digging that important document out of the pile on your desk.
When we rush, our communication gets rushed. We don’t take the time to think about the audience, where they’re at and what their needs are. Unfortunately all this rushing comes out in our language and leads us painfully to the hangover of: “what I meant was” or “that’s not quite what I was saying”. You spend more time correcting than you would have spent on the original message.
How many times have you re-read an email a week or two after you sent it and were confused about it yourself? Email is our greatest source of rushed communications. When confirming your attendance for lunch or letting someone know where to find the extra brochures, quick, “off the cuff” emails are fine. When you’re trying to outline something more complex, however, like defining the status of a large project, you need to slow down, consider who you are writing to and what they need to know to meet expectations.
Before you begin composing your email, consider jotting down the random “bits” of information and categorizing them – after all, it was those random bits that prompted you to decide “I need to send an email to tell them X, Y and Z.”
Before you build content around the bits, if you are writing to an individual, ask yourself if your communications are regularly understood by them. If you are often asked to explain or confirm details, you’ll want to take care to be clear and concise with your words. If you’re communicating to a group, default to the “lowest common denominator”, or, the person who least understands you – write the piece in a way that that individual will understand.
When it comes to the content that holds the information together, it is easy to skip over pertinent points when you know the topic and details intimately. Your readers may not know, or may have forgotten the things that you know. Use the ‘who, what, where, when, why and how’ approach. As you type your email, ensure you are answering those five Ws and the H to ensure readers get all of the information. Sometimes I put subheads in emails to make the information easier to read, breakdown and understand.
And finally, before you hit send, let it sit for a bit. Next time you find yourself running late but that email you’re working on “better be in someone’s in-box before 9:00 am”, take a moment. Re-read your communication. Better still, close it, take a quick break to do something else, grab a glass of water, chat to a colleague or get ready to go home then come back to it with fresh eyes..
Letting your words sit is one of the most time-saving things we can do.
