On average, most of us receive about 275 emails each day and probably reply (on average) to 20-25.

Which to read is one issue, whether or not to respond is another, and how to make each response effective is still another.

Here are Paul Hellman’s 10 tips on how to sharpen emails in his new book, You’ve Got 00:00:08 Seconds: Communication Secrets for a Distracted World, published by AMACOM (April 2017).

o Capture attention with your subject line.
o Update your subject line.
o Manage your emotions.
o Don’t email everyone.
o Avoid most abbreviations.
o Follow up.
o Consider the phone.
o Respond quickly.
o Adapt your style
o Edit, edit, edit.

He thoroughly explains HOW and WHY in Chapter 4, Pages 41-44.

I presume to add this email tip:

If you have a question to answer or a problem to solve:

“I need your assistance.”

[State it in a single sentence.]

“Please share your thoughts.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

Paul Hellman consults and speaks internationally. He has advised thousands of executives and professionals during his career, at organizations like Aetna, Analog Devices, BIC, Biogen, Boeing, Kaiser Permanente, MFS Investment Management, NASA, New Balance, State Street, ThermoFisherScientific, United Technologies, and many others. His columns and advice have appeared in The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, as well as on public radio’s “Marketplace,” and CNN’s “Business Unusual.” CNBC.com has run over 100 of his fast tips.

To learn more about him, please click here.