Writing Emails People Actually Read

The subject line does most of the work before the email is even opened. A specific subject ('Budget approval needed by Friday') gets read faster than a vague one ('Quick question') because it tells the reader whether this is urgent before they click.

Put the ask in the first line, not the last. If someone only reads one sentence of your email — and many people will — that sentence should be enough for them to know what you need from them.

One email, one topic. Bundling three unrelated requests into a single message means the reader has to track three separate threads, and it's common for two of the three to get lost in the reply.

End with a specific next step, not an open-ended one. 'Let me know your thoughts' is easy to defer indefinitely. 'Can you confirm by Thursday?' gives the reader a clear, small action to take right now.