Digital Readout Kit for Mills, Lathes, & Grinding
Published

You Didn’t Read My Email?

Communication between customers, co-workers and vendors needs to be clear and concise. 

Share

An email should be clear and concise. Photo Credit: Thinkstock Photos

An email should be clear and concise. Photo Credit: Thinkstock Photos

So many emails and so little time. At PMPA, email is our primary form of communication and I’m sure that is true for many companies. You can get a message to one or 100 people and they can read it on their time. But are they reading it? 

Readable Emails

My mother used to say, “If I had more time, I would have written a shorter letter.” Sounds wrong, but it’s not. Writing is part of my job. This article was a lot longer than the one you are reading now. I wrote it, then went back and took out the unnecessary words/thoughts.

Email messaging needs the same treatment. An email relays information and the message should be clear and concise. For example, instead of saying, “I was sitting at my desk thinking that you and I need to talk about such and such. If we don’t talk about it soon, it may be too late to do anything about it,” you can say “Such and such is time-sensitive. Can you meet today at 1 p.m.?” You have included the necessary information and a call-to-action to get things moving. 

We live in a bite-size world.

Our news is in clips, our online entertainment lasts as long as a TikTok video and we get notifications about everything. And we are notified on everything — our desktop, laptop, smartphones and smart watches. There is a lot of information heading everyone’s way everyday, so you need to make sure your message is bite-size, informative and includes a call-to-action, if necessary, to ensure it gets the attention it deserves.

Take the Time to Write a Shorter Letter

If you send me a long email, I’m not going to read it. It’s nothing personal, but my brain sees all those paragraphs and I skim it for the gist. Want to send an easily consumable email? Here are a few tips:

  • Think like a journalist. The first paragraph of a news story tells you who, what, where, when and why. The rest of the article expounds on that data. 
  • If you have a lot of information to share, then format it to make it consumable using bold and bullets.
  • Bold the main sentences/phrases so if that is all they read, they get the info. If they want more info, they can read the rest.
  • Don’t underline. In email, it’s a hyperlink. 
  • If the email is long, create sections for different topics.
  • Read your email after you write it and trim the excess. Sometimes, reading it aloud helps.

Let’s not forget pleasantries. They are important and should be included. But keep it concise. Instead of “Last time we spoke, you were going on vacation to Maui and bringing the whole family. Did you have fun?” you can say “Did you and the family have fun in Maui?” Want it shorter? “How was Maui?” You can almost make it a game — how short can I get it?

You need to communicate and are taking the time to do it. Help the reader by making it easier to receive the message. 

About the Author

Carli Kistler-Miller

Carli Kistler-Miller, MBA, has over 20 years of experience with communications, event/meeting planning, marketing, writing and operations. Email cmiller@pmpa.org at PMPA.

Star swiss-type automatic lathes
Marubeni Citizen CNC
Efficient, Durability, Advanced CBN Abrasives
World Machine Tool Survey
SolidCAM
PMTS 2025 Register Now!
Horn USA
manufacturer of machine tools

Related Content

PMPA

Do You Have a Quoting Process?

The only way to have repeatable results is to have a process.

Read More
Basics

Craftsman Cribsheet No. 128: Why Do Machinists Say Tenths Instead of Ten Thousandths?

In machinist parlance, a tenth is a tenth of a thousandth, not a tenth of an inch.

Read More
PMPA

‘Can You Hold This Tolerance?’ Is Not An Engineering Question

The implications of tolerances go far beyond mere technical compliance.

Read More

Manufacturing Skills Training: Virginia Martinez and Laiken Carrillo

Roles of Women in Manufacturing Series: A precision machining career starts with skills. Virginia and Laiken share their journey and how they help prepare the next generation.

Read More

Read Next

Measurement

Seeing Automated Workpiece Measurement in Real Time

User-friendly inspection software for CNC machining centers was shown at IMTS 2024 monitoring measurements between and after machining while performing SPC based on recorded measurement values.

Read More

A Tooling Workshop Worth a Visit

Marubeni Citizen-Cincom’s tooling and accessory workshop offers a chance to learn more about ancillary devices that can boost machining efficiency and capability.

Read More
PMPA

Do You Have Single Points of Failure?

Plans need to be in place before a catastrophic event occurs.

Read More
CNC Turnkey Package for Knee Mills and Lathes