The 10-point plan to nail the perfect email strategy

This article is written by Dr Adam Parr, of the Smith School for Enterprise & the Environment at the University of Oxford, VC investor, and Formula One alumnus.

• The problem: Email is the dominant channel for communicating.
• Why it matters: Good communication is difficult with email and it is always on.
• The solution: New rules for sending and dealing with emails avoids the pitfalls for work — and work-life balance.

We all rely on email to get our jobs done, and we often spend hours, even days, crafting the perfect missive.

And yet, few of us have experienced a killer email in a good sense. Instead, we are constantly amazed at our colleagues’ ability to get it wrong: endless tomes that no one will read, addressing the wrong people, virtue-signalling, getting the tone wrong, not proofing, hitting send too soon. If we are honest with ourselves, we have done the same.

Bad emails have very serious effects to the point where they can destroy working relationships and sink a decent idea. So, here are some suggestions for an E-tiquette checklist that you might want to edit, add to and stick on your wall.

Timing

The most important thing about email (like jokes) is timing. When to read, when to ignore, when to reply.

A good idea is not to read emails first thing in the day, because then your day is set by what pops up. And it’s often ruined if one of those emails is particularly irritating. If you get a lot of emails, then there’s a good chance most days start with frustration and misdirection.

Instead, consider working up to 30 minutes before lunch, then spending that half-hour triaging your inbox. Take a break to get lunch, then respond. At worst, someone who wrote to you after you left the office yesterday has had to wait less than a day for a response. If it was really urgent they could have picked up the phone.

Replies then are planned: this afternoon or a date in the future. If you are setting a date in the future then it is very courteous to let the writer know that you will do that — and keep your word, of course.

The Professor’s Inbox is Terrifically Busy

Don’t be like “the Professor,” (not the bank robber) though, and reply to all emails exactly one month after they arrive, to demonstrate who’s the busier of the two. I don’t even know how this works, unless the Professor actually reads their inbox one month in arrears. Which surely requires more effort than doing it the usual way.

Write, Proof, Address … Pause

We tend to put the addresses in first, then write. This creates a real risk of error on many fronts.

Try to get into the habit of writing then proofing then …

STOP!

The Pause

Do you really think that this email is the best way to communicate what you need to?

We all know the rule that nothing important, surprising, nuanced, or upsetting should be done by email. But it’s so tempting!

How about a quick “telephone call” (insert Austin Powers’s Dr Evil quotation marks here) or getting together face-to-face (via Zoom if necessary)?

After the Pause: the Addresses

Let’s not be “Reply to All”-ocrats, keep everyone in the loop, be great communicators, or just be keen to show everyone we are busy.

The Aussies have a great saying: “You touch it, you own it.” So, you are copied to an email with a 159-page PowerPoint and you are now responsible for every 8pt footnote in that deck. It’s a savage way to share accountability!

How about you just write to the people who really need to know or take action on your email. You should already know who they are (and they know too) because you have already spoken about it in a meeting.

Blind

Never use BCC other than in a confidential mailing list. Copy people who need to be in copy; or forward the Sent email to them if you do not wish everyone to see, for good reason. BCC feels a bit too much like speaking about people behind their backs in the school playground.

Chains

Don’t be tied to an email chain. There are real risks because you never know what is down there deep in the email chain, iceberg-like, waiting to sink your boat to the tune of "My Heart Will Go On". It may do just that, if someone a few exchanges back wrote: “This guy is such a pain, can someone just answer him?” Or details of a competitive tender.

Start a new email and you can never be caught out by Celine Dion.

One question

If you are asking a question, then try to keep it to one per email, especially if it’s someone you can’t pester with multiple emails.

If you need to ask more than one question, then number them in separate paragraphs. You can even ask the other person to answer in line so that they don’t miss one out.

Out of Office

These days more and more people work flexibly. The logic is that people can work in different ways and that is something they agree with their employers. It has nothing to do with anyone else.

So, I wonder out loud and cautiously if it is time to abandon the footer that states, “I work Monday from 1500 to 1700, Wednesday from 0900 to 1030, and Thursday 1400-1600”? If I am able to do my job effectively and reply to emails in a reasonable time, then it’s no one’s business what hours I work. When someone writes to me, they don’t need to see my employment contract, they need a professional response in an appropriate time frame.

This is a genuine issue for me as I do academic work three days a week and reserve Tuesdays and Thursdays for business. But I cannot bring myself to put that in an out-of-office message because I always get the business stuff done more quickly than anyone can reasonably expect of me.

Some may object, but surely how we work is now the issue, not when. Perhaps we can all agree though about the dreaded “Hey, I’m trekking in the Andes with limited access to email. I may be delayed in responding to you.” How about they just put “out of office” with a date, since presumably it’s roughly the same thing — unless they work for Patagonia’s Quality Assurance department.

Don’t negotiate against yourself

Most of the above are about basic email processes. But let’s end with a more solid one: once you have sent an email stating your position on something, don’t send another one until you get a reply. Otherwise, you’re just negotiating against yourself.

Be patient. And remember that what is burningly important for you may not be in the top 10 issues for the person you are writing to.

Conclusions

I could go on, but instead, how about you send me a few of your favourite rules (together with any comments you may have on these ones) and I will do a revised version incorporating them in a few weeks?

Happy emailing!

“El Professor”

What are your top email tips? Let us know by emailing us — but please bear in mind Adam’s rules!

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