Digital Smarts - Brevity is the Key with Emails

Kids don’t send many emails these days and rely instead on texting, so even more of a reason to share some tips about emailing with them. The key? Brevity. What was once considered rude in letter format is now proper etiquette when writing an email. Here’s more:

• People are burdened with email. Help relieve their burden by keeping your message concise and clear. Brevity in an email shows respect for your reader’s time.
• Don’t bother with the niceties like asking “how are you” unless you have a real reason.
• If you need a yes-or-no answer, make sure you are asking a yes-or-no question
• If you need to set up a meeting, don’t just say you need to set up a meeting; suggest a time and place.
• Shoot for five sentences or less.
• Keep your subject line short. It will likely be read on a mobile device so six words max. Never leave the subject line blank. That’s rude. And never put the whole message in a subject line; that’s a text message.