One of the most frustrating aspects of email is the comparative lengthy times there can be between sending a message and receiving a reply. It’s not hard to see why this can be frustrating. After all, emails are sent and received almost instantly – a far cry from the days when a letter would take days to arrive and still yet more to receive a reply! It’s understandable to feel impatient in a fast-paced business environment. Thankfully, there are steps that you can take when crafting your email that can help to reduce the time between sending it and receiving a prompt response.
Be concise
Unlike the long-winded letters of the past, no one wants to read your life story in an email. The key to getting a prompt reply is to be concise. If your email is dealing with a multitude of unrelated or semi-related issues, then it simply takes more brain power for the recipient to respond to you. In the course of a busy day, that makes it all too easy to put off responding until a more convenient time – for them. If you need an answer to your email fast, it’s best to be as concise as you can.
Only send the emails you need to send
You should only send the emails you absolutely need to send. Just as many meetings could easily be an email, and thus waste everyone’s time, there’s no need to send an email to someone about something when you have the ability and the time to ask them that question in person. It gets you the response that you need quickly, without wasting time waiting for a response on a relatively simple matter.
Request a response
Sometimes, it may not be clear to the recipient of the email that a response is needed. Text-based communication needs to be direct – the ambiguities of physical communication don’t translate into a digital format. Requesting a response explicitly can help to clear up this confusion.
Consider including a deadline
Even when you’ve requested a response, it may not be apparent when the recipient needs to respond. A simple line such as “Kindly let me know by Wednesday at 4 PM” or other such entreaties as appropriate can clear up the confusion and set firm expectations for the recipient.
Don’t "CC" unless absolutely necessary
Finally, while closed copying is a great way to get information out to multiple recipients at once, it’s a terrible means of getting prompt replies from everyone. Because the email was sent to so many people, it can be hard to tell whether any one individual needs to reply. Consider blind closed copying if you really need to send the same email to multiple recipients and expect a response from all of them.
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