Agonising over just the rights words to get your message across? Brevity is key.
The average professional spends nearly one-third of their workweek reading and responding to business emails. In skimming them, readers often equate length of message with how difficult and time-consuming it will be to respond to.
The authors of this article, Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink, sent two versions of an email to 7,002 recipients across the USA requesting that they complete a short online survey. One email was 127 words; the other 49 words. The concise email elicited nearly twice as many survey responses - a 4.8% response rate instead of 2.7%. Both emails directed recipients to the same survey, which took approximately five minutes to complete. 29% of respondents who received the concise email believed the survey would take less than five minutes, compared to 15% who received the wordy email.
"Most of us have never been trained in the skill of concise writing. Compounding the problem, most of us have not been trained in the skill of concise editing (or self-editing), either."
We know how to write for busy readers. A Glass of Water can work with you to set your communications function up for success - so you can get your message out effectively.
Photo by Bryan Colosky on Unsplash
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