Email goes unanswered when the recipient is unclear as to what’s expected of them.

One of the first questions people ask when receiving an email is “what do you want from me?”. With this in mind it’s important for your email to quickly get to the point and make it clear what is expected of the recipient. Email goes unanswered when the recipient is unclear as to what’s expected of them. As in all business communication vagueness and ambiguity is not at all useful. So taking time to think through and make clear the purpose and intent of our email is an important first step.

Getting clarity on the outcomes expected from the recipient provides the starting point for constructing a brief, persuasive and powerful message.

There are only three types of business emails that get sent. Each has a different outcome and expected response from the recipient. The three types of emails are as follows:

1. Email that only needs to be read: The purpose of this kind of email is to share information. No reply is necessary or expected from the recipient. The expectation is only that the message be read and understood. It’s useful to conclude these types of emails with the phrase “No Reply Necessary”.
2. Email that requires a reply: The purpose of this kind of email is to get a decision from the recipient. You need the recipient to respond to the email with a decision. It’s useful when sending these types of emails to include all the information that the recipient will need to assist them with making their decision. Make it easy for them to decide and reply.
3. Email that requires action: The purpose of this email is to get the recipient to take some action. For example to purchase a product, click on a link, share some information, review a document, etc. When asking for action it’s important to be specific concerning the kind action that you expect the recipient to take. If you are expecting an action to be taken it may be important to include due dates.

You should make it clear to the recipient what type of email you’re sending. This is best done with an appropriate subject line and stating your expectations in the first paragraph of the email. Email that gets results is clear about the action that you expect the recipient to take. So before you dive into writing your next email take a step back and consider:

• What type of email do I need to send?
• What response or action an I expecting of the recipient? Have I made this clear?
• Have I included all the necessary information to support the expected response or action?
• Is email the best way to communicate this or should we rather have a telephonic or face-to face discussion?