Upgrade your email game
Even if all the emails in your own inbox get opened, there is only a slim chance you will read them all the way. The same goes for those you send, unless you’ve grabbed attention from the start. That means your subject line, your greeting, and your first couple of sentences are essential determinators of the outcome you are expecting; are they to the point?
Listen.
BLUF - the acronym that stands for Bottom Line Up Front - is as ad rem as any communication is going to get. It is the ultimate “get to the point” style of communications.
In short, BLUF means putting the main ask or the main message of the email (the bottom line) immediately at the start (up front), so the recipient immediately knows why you are writing and doesn’t have to skim a long text to find the message buried in unnecessary details. Emails that are clear, concise, and relevant also improve the likelihood of a response.
I first heard of BLUF emails years ago when one recipient pointed out that my emails seemed written like those of the military. A quick investigation showed me where military emails and mine converge in style: I state my purpose clearly, I get to the point, and I get there fast.
Some people tend to make long introductions, assuming the recipient will read all the way through and get to the crux - perhaps a request, an invitation to an event, or a sales pitch. In many PR and marketing emails I see, some people seem to reason that if they are interesting or entertaining enough, or that if they find a way to entice readers to stay on course until the end of a long text, they have a better chance of achieving engagement.
For emails, I tend to argue the exact opposite. You should certainly include a hook in the first couple of lines, but your main message, the reason you are writing, and what your recipient is seeking should not be difficult to find, nor need much effort and time to be reached.
You are not being a good communicator if you include too much information in what could have been a simple email, even if you think you are saving your recipient the trouble of having to ask follow-up questions. Long, rambling emails with unnecessary introductions, diversions, and elaborations are the least effective way to get a message from A to B.
Office humor has often pointed to the prevalence of “this meeting could have been an email” frustrations at the work place. Similarly, it is important to avoid triggering the sense that “this email could have been a meeting” from the sheer volume of information sent - some perhaps needed, more probably unnecessary, and most usually tedious to read.
On occasion, you can fluff emails slightly, lest they appear too curt to the uninitiated in the highly efficient BLUF method. Without taking away from the focus and sequence, you can warm up your text, adding the amiability factor that is a necessary basic courtesy in our everyday professional dealings - especially in the first instance of communicating. Adopting BLUF and ad rem writing should not project abruptness, but rather efficiency and respect for your recipient’s time.
You cannot be expected to draft a perfect email every time, especially when in response to quick queries in an overflowing inbox. You can, however, start by getting the training that will help you to think and to write in BLUF mode, with ad rem accuracy, as a first step towards upgrading your email game.
In all your communications, at every point and on every platform, choose your words wisely, be clear, and try to quickly get to the point.
October 2023
