Start your personal email reduction program. Your readers will thank you!

• Send your reply only to the sender, not the mailing list.
• Don't include previous messages unless the reader needs to refer to them.
• Don't ask "who needs this"; instead, ask "why does this person need this?"
• To terminate an endless exchange, copy their message into your screen and drop your comments into it.

Don't bury bad news in a heap of verbiage.

• Give a rationale, but keep it brief: "Without proof of purchase, we cannot offer a refund."
• If there's a solution, suggest it: "You will receive a check one week after we have proof that you purchased the widget from us."
• If there's good news, state it briefly: "I am pleased to offer you in-store credit even though we cannot offer a refund without proof of purchase."

It doesn't hurt to express your feelings, but don't start there.

Want to save your organization money? Start thinking "database" rather than "policy," "procedure," or "audit report."

• Reference materials get lost in email, and they are petrified in hard copy.
• Every bit of information that people will need to access at a different time or in a different context belongs on a website.
• To alert users to new information posted on the website, send an email with a hyperlink.

Email readers look at the sender and subject line to prioritize messages. They want messages that are easy to file, schedule, or act on.

• Design subject lines that make prioritizing easy. Include precise topics and relevant dates.
• Stick to one topic per message: Laundry lists are hard to remember, file, or act on.
• Group discussion doesn't work in email. Instead of throwing out a general question, ask three specific questions and combine receivers' responses.

Website readers forage headings looking for clues--then they dive into the text they want to read.

• Key words matter more than art. About four out of five readers focus first on text, not graphics.
• Clueless headings fail, uninformative cuteness offends, and marketese slogans are detested.

Think of each heading as the diving board into the text and make a clean bounce possible.

Email readers forgive typos, but they don't easily forgive lapses in clarity or tone.

• Wordiness, vagueness, and negativity are taken as serious problems in the writer's thinking.
• Typos the spell checker won't catch (e.g. "thank your" for "thank you") are acceptable. Misspellings the spell checker will catch are not.
• Irony and sarcasm just don't work--even if you tack on a smiley face.

Rule of thumb: Don't let your slides upstage your ideas!

• Put only key words on the screen: The audience can't pay attention to you or your material while reading.
• Use color to help your audience track modules or subject areas.
• To encourage linear thinking, bring text in from the left. Do the opposite--or use a dissolve--to encourage imagination.
• Don't let "flying text" cross over anything that's already on the screen.

Email looks like a memo, but it's not. People read it through a tight lens, so context and continuity are hard to track.

• Right up front, tell readers what they need to do or know, when, and why.
• Straight narrative doesn't work. Think headings, bullets, and lists--not paragraphs or blocks of text.
• If a word or phrase is offensive when it's read out of context, don't write it in email.

Teamwork through email is like herding cats. You get lots of ideas, questions, and disagreements. You get wild, creative solutions. The problem is how to herd them and come to a decision.

• To avoid scatter, define goals, roles, and benchmarks at the front end of every project.
• Communicate frequently: don't wait until you have "all the facts."
• Reply within 24 hours. If you need more time, say so.
• When it's time to make a decision, send out a voting form--or have a meeting.

In the industrial age, information was power. Everybody wanted to be in the loop. In the digital age, information is compost. If you don't choose your loops, you get buried!

• Compose a polite request that your name be removed. Send it to every mailing list that does not relate to your work mission or project goals.
• Bask in the spaciousness of an open screen.

Hierarchical language backfires in email--and readers may find condescension where you didn't intend it.

• Remove such words as "should" and "I expect" from your online vocabulary.
• Before you punch "send," read your message in the tone you'd use if you were irritated. Change whatever sounds offensive.
• Use the telephone, not email, to resolve interpersonal problems.