My manager only ever reads the first 2 lines of an email. Very annoying when there’s a complex issue that needs more than 2 sentences to explain and he wants to know all the details. I swear he must’ve read it on a list of “x number of things that highly successful people do” and now he lives by it.
I am a big fan of BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front). Condense your entire email to a single sentence and then explain afterward.
The person you’re emailing will see the key point immediately (maybe even in the lede). If they agree with you, you’re good. If not, they can then read your explanation.
If the email is so complex I can’t explain it one sentence, that’s usually when I consider asking for a meeting or try to reduce further.
Example:
Hi {boss},
I think we should do X.
X is the best way to do Y because it can be automated and reproduced sustainably.
Etc.
Etc.
Supporting details…
Let me know if you’d like to meet to discuss further,
{Name}
That’s pretty close to what I do. Imagine your manager asking a question that you answer in your supporting details question, so you have to repeat your answer. Then he asks another question that is also answered in that section. I used to reply underlining where I answer it specifically, but have given up as it made no difference.
My manager only ever reads the first 2 lines of an email. Very annoying when there’s a complex issue that needs more than 2 sentences to explain and he wants to know all the details. I swear he must’ve read it on a list of “x number of things that highly successful people do” and now he lives by it.
I am a big fan of BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front). Condense your entire email to a single sentence and then explain afterward.
The person you’re emailing will see the key point immediately (maybe even in the lede). If they agree with you, you’re good. If not, they can then read your explanation.
If the email is so complex I can’t explain it one sentence, that’s usually when I consider asking for a meeting or try to reduce further.
Example:
Hi {boss},
I think we should do X.
X is the best way to do Y because it can be automated and reproduced sustainably.
Etc. Etc. Supporting details…
Let me know if you’d like to meet to discuss further, {Name}
That’s pretty close to what I do. Imagine your manager asking a question that you answer in your supporting details question, so you have to repeat your answer. Then he asks another question that is also answered in that section. I used to reply underlining where I answer it specifically, but have given up as it made no difference.