Clear Emails

---
name: clear-emails
description: "Write emails that get read and acted on: one clear purpose, the ask up front, and only what the reader needs. Use when writing any email that must be understood and answered without back-and-forth."
---

# Clear emails

Most email is skimmed by a busy person deciding in seconds whether to deal
with it now, later, or never. A clear email respects that: it has one
purpose, states what it needs early, and stays short. The reward is a
faster reply and fewer follow-ups.

## Method

1. **Have one purpose per email.** Decide the single thing this email is
   for (an ask, an answer, an update, a decision) and build around it.
   Emails cramming three unrelated requests get one answered and two lost;
   send separate emails or a clearly numbered list.
2. **Put the ask or the point up front.** Lead with what you need the
   reader to do or know, then the context (see exec-one-pager's
   bottom-line-up-front). Making the reader scroll through background to
   find the request is how emails get set aside "to deal with later" and
   forgotten.
3. **Keep it short and scannable.** Short paragraphs, and a bulleted list
   for multiple points or questions, so the reader can answer each without
   losing track. A wall of text gets skimmed and half-answered. Cut every
   sentence that does not help the reader act (see concise-writing).
4. **Make the action and deadline explicit.** State exactly what you want
   ("please approve X by Thursday", "let me know which option"), from whom,
   by when. Vague closings ("let me know your thoughts") get vague or no
   responses. One clear ask beats an implied one.
5. **Give the reader everything they need to reply.** The context, the
   options, the attachment, the link: so answering is a quick yes/no or
   pick, not a research task. An email that forces the reader to gather
   information before replying gets delayed.
6. **Write a subject line that says what it is.** The subject determines
   whether and when the email is opened; make it specific and honest (see
   email-subject-lines). "Quick question about the Q3 budget" beats
   "Hi" or "Following up".

## Boundaries

- Clarity and brevity serve the reader; they do not mean cold or curt. A
  warm greeting and a human tone cost little and matter for the
  relationship (see email-tone).
- Some emails need length (a detailed proposal, a careful explanation);
  there, structure and signposting carry the clarity (see email-structure),
  and a short summary up top still helps.
- Email is the wrong medium for some things: a complex negotiation, a
  sensitive conversation, or anything needing real back-and-forth is often
  better as a call (see async-communication's medium choice).