How do I write a clear work email?
Put the point or the ask in the first two lines, keep it to one topic, and make the next step obvious.
Put the point or the request in the first two lines. Stick to one topic. End with a clear next step and, if it matters, a date.
A simple shape
- Subject line: the topic plus the action. For example: Q3 report draft, review by Thursday.
- Opening: what you need or what you are telling them.
- Context: two or three short lines. Only what they need to act.
- Close: the next step, who owns it, and by when.
Common slips
- Burying the ask in the fourth paragraph
- Several unrelated questions in one message
- Replying all when only one person needs it
- Apologizing for emailing at all
Before you hit send
Read it as the recipient. Could they act on it from a phone, between meetings, in thirty seconds? If not, cut.
Email is lesson one in the lessons. Next up: speaking up in meetings.
The workplace skills nobody taught you, in short lessons