One of the easiest and most efficient ways to make sure your email message is read, AND understood, is to follow this rule: Main Point First.
What this means is that when you place your main point, assignment, or request within the first two lines of an email, you can get your reader focused on exactly what you want right from the get-go.
With 70% of all email message readers skimming messages, it becomes strategic to write your message so that the main point or request is read and unerstood. The way to do this, is by putting that main point where people won’t miss it. In the FIRST line of the message!
It is interesting to note that when I share this tip with others, they all say they do it. But they don’t! Take a survey of the next 10 email messages you receive. Is the main point in the first line? My bet is that you’ll be lucky to have one out of 10 with the main point in that first line…
Our natural tendency as writers is to build up to a conclusion. Sounds reasonable. It just doesn’t work with email or business letter writing in general. The more buried the m ain point is, the more likely it will be missed or its importance overlooked.
So, the next time you write an email message, before you send it, ask yourself whether the main point is first. If it is not-easy-cut and paste that main point to the front. You’ll be surprised at the results.
