Be Clear About What You Want

As I’ve noted before, email just isn’t good at dealing with uncertainties or asking for input. So instead of asking a question like “Is there a time when the six of us can get together?” make the leap and propose something like “Can we get together at 10:00 on Tuesday?” instead. You’ll avoid rounds of discussion where everyone tells you when they are and aren’t available, sound more confident, have greater success in making something actually happen and actually get more responses to your email. You'll also be more likely to get what you wanted in the first place.

Although I suggest that you only use one-word replies with your most familiar correspondents, the reality of email is that you will often receive them. So you should try to phrase your questions in a way that a “yes” or “no” answer will make sense. Let’s say you want to take a day off to catch up with all of the episodes of “24” that have been building up on your Tivo (they’re more fun strung together that way). So you send your boss an email saying, “I’d like to take a personal day. Do you mind if I take off Friday?” What do you make of it if she writes back by just saying “yes”? Is she fine with the idea, or does she mind? Instead, ask something like, “Is it OK if I take off Friday?” so a one word response clearly answers your question. If she says “yes” then, you know you’re set. If she says “no” you might want to start thinking about your next job.

The reality of one-word responses also means that it’s a good idea to limit your emails to one major question. I’ve seen way too many cases where someone sends out an email with multiple questions and gets back a response like “yes” or “no.” There are all kinds of reasons that this happens-- inattentive readers, tiny Blackberry screens, people who mean to answer yes to all of the questions-- but there’s no way to figure out what such an answer means without contacting your correspondent again. This can be embarrassing for you, for them, or everyone. Make it easier by just asking one question per email.