Why YSK: These email tips are helpful for people who struggle with boundaries and want to communicate more assertively.
I have very mixed feelings about this. I feel personally attacked, but also might reference this moving forward
I’m absolutely using this moving forward…
Always happy to help!
The one about not saying “I think maybe” is one I actively try to do. Assertiveness is something that doesn’t come naturally to me but I’ve been in too many situations where my lack of assertiveness comes across as uncertainty and introduces confusion into discussions where actually I do know what I’m talking about.
Some of these are great and I will definitely steal a few. I especially appreciate these as a non-native speaker.
Don’t judge me… I never use exclamation points unless the context is absolutely fitting. Aka, %1 of my email and text, if not less, uses it. It’s like I’ve saved it for it’s original meaning. My wife isn’t a fan of this.
Your usage is more traditionally correct. Typographers and writers agree that the use of exclamation marks (also referred to as ‘bang’ or ‘screamer’) should be done sparingly.
But with so much informal (digital) communication, it’s taken on a new life as an indicator of friendliness.
Unlike the Germans, who have international government agreements that change the rules of their written language, English simply evolves with the next crop of teenage whims.
Which may be another way of saying that while you are correct, your wife is more hip.
Half of it is fragile CEO ego reply
Yeah seriously, there’s nothing wrong with admitting you made a mistake.
Saved, I may use these starting Monday.
All of these are really good examples of writing a good email, except the bottom left one.
The “wrong” example is perfectly fine, and the “correct” example is pretty rude unless you’re a project manager addressing your team. Even if you were a project manager, it’s still pretty rude.
I totally agree, bottom left one screams of project manager that scheduled too much in your sprint and they’re pressuring you to finish everything asap
Also it depends on if the person holding you up is the client or some other employee at your company.
Often it is the client the holding you up. In which case the best thing to do is send them an email about a week before the actual target date just to remind them, especially if they’ve done this before.
My personal ones for corporate use:
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Never use I when you can use we.
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Even if you’re the only one working on a project, never refer to it as yours. Always refer to it as ours.
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Don’t apologize, present solutions.
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Don’t say “read my fucking email again you goddamn illiterate moron”, say “As previously noted in our communications…”
“Per my last email…”
good ‘ol corporate clap back
The last one is particularly important if you like to eat.
So that’s where I’ve been going wrong at previous jobs. Definitely taking note.
Our company “russian anthem starts playing”
I will also attach old emails rather than repeat myself.
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For me personally, receiving a ‘just wanted to check in’ feels less aggressive than ‘when can I expect an update’
Otherwise I agree with the rest
Agreed. The former sounds like “How’s it coming?” and the latter sounds like “What’s taking so long?”
One tip here is to remove “just” as it will come across as more confident. The use of “just” is often unnecessary and can come across as apologetic.
I don’t read it any differently with or without just. I’m not sure what you mean by apologetic or why that would be a bad thing.
Instead of either, I like asking if they have any further questions.
Hi Shelley! How are you? I really hope you’re doing well.Shelley, we didn’t go to school together and you’re not my kris kringle, I’m at work and I need x. Ping me if you need anything. Also donuts in the kitchen.Improving my work emails is 99% of what I use ChatGPT for.
“It’d be easier to discuss in person” means “I don’t want a record of this because it’s either illegal or shows my incompetence”.
Any meeting that they want to talk about in writing should ALWAYS be recorded.
Also, carefully laying thoughts out in text for 40 minutes takes a lot less time than explaining it meaningfully to multiple people, probably more than once if it was important enough. Absolutely nothing wrong with that.
To me calls are more about efficiency, I prefer to have a call and talk through a complex issue for 15 min instead of needing 5+ back and forth emails over an afternoon to get everyone on the same page.
Couldn’t agree more.
Yes, either that or “I haven’t thought this through well enough that I can explain it in writing, so please let me fumble through an oral explanation and—in all likelihood—waste your time”.
Or, “I’m dyslectic and would prefer to talk rather than write”, which is fair enough, I think.
Shorten the last one to “I will need to leave at ___”
Imma take a second to plug goblin tools. I’m autistic and it has saved my ass.
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