Unignorable Comms: 5 Things You Need to Know
Read time: 2 minutes / Subscribe to this newsletter
It’s 11:13pm. you hurriedly finish a crucial email, scheduling it to be sent at 7 am.
You lament, “Last time I put this much effort in, my message was ignored.”
You’re tired and frustrated, and you’re ready to give up.
Has this ever happened?
If so, the next two minutes are about you. And what you can do to ensure your email is unignorable and actionable.
5 Things You Need to Know About Unignorable Comms
I.
We think people want transparency. They don’t. Instead, people want clarity. The difference? Relevance. And how do you ensure your messages are relevant? By giving people a clear call-to-action.
II.
Communication without action is pointless. FYIs are a waste of time, and they encourage your audience to ignore future messages. Therefore, always create a call-to-action for messages … even if you think it’s an FYI. As an example, “We are taking down our systems for maintenance this weekend. If this causes undue hardship and disruption to the business, please notify me by 5pm ET tonight.”
III.
Put your call-to-action in the subject line. Have you ever spent 30 minutes writing a message and 1 minute on the subject line? Turns out, the subject line is the reason they open your message. An example subject line might be, “Please respond by 5pm ET today for weekend system access.”
IV.
The final sentence of your email should repeat the exact call-to-action from your subject line. And make it impossible to miss by highlighting and bold-facing the type. As an example, “Please respond by 5pm ET today for weekend system access.”
V.
A reverse call-to-action can be highly effective, too. Instead of seeking permission, you prompt action only if there’s disagreement. For instance: “Unless otherwise directed by 5 pm ET today, the team will proceed with taking down the systems for routine maintenance this weekend.”
If you want to see this in action, here’s an actual message I sent as a CIO. This newsletter edition also includes other pro tips to make your message sparkle … and to ensure it’s unignorable!
If you want to vent, share tools, ask questions, or make comments, let’s get the conversation started below in the comments section!
Your coach,
Chris
P.S. ♻ Sharing is caring. Please consider forwarding this to a colleague or friend, if you found it useful. Your kindness could improve someone else’s world of work!
