P06 · Lesson 2 of 8 · 10 min · 4 hands-on tasks
Emails That Get Answers
A good work email is a request someone can say yes to from their phone: a subject that says what you need, the point first, and one clear ask with a deadline.
🎬 Situation
Omar's delivery project needs three things from three people: data, a budget check and a meeting time. He sends one long, friendly email to all three on Monday.
By Friday: silence. His colleagues aren't ignoring him. His email made it easy to put off.
🎮 Play
Rewrite the request. Here's Omar's email asking his boss for approval. Cut the fluff, put the point first and end with a clear ask. Keep it under 60 words.
- Hi Maria, hope your week is going well and you're not too busy.
- I've been thinking a lot about our delivery routes lately.
- A route-planning tool would cut our drivers' miles by about 12%, saving roughly $900 a month.
- There are lots of tools out there and they all have pros and cons.
- I'd like your approval to buy RouteWise for $1,200 a year.
- It pays for itself in the first six weeks.
- Can you approve it by Thursday noon so we can start before the busy season?
- The main point (the answer) comes first
- No fluff left, and nothing important cut
- It ends with a clear ask (what you need, by when)
- 60 words or fewer
What does a long email really cost? Every extra minute is multiplied by every reader.
A long email to a big list is one of the most expensive things in an office. Shorten it, or send it to fewer people.
🏷️ Name it
| Part | What it does | Omar's email |
|---|---|---|
| Subject line | Says what you need and by when | "Approval needed by Thu: $1,200 route-planning software" |
| First line | The point | "I'd like your approval to buy RouteWise for $1,200 a year." |
| Middle | One to three reasons | Saves about $900 a month; pays back in six weeks |
| Last line | One clear ask, with a deadline | "Can you approve it by Thursday noon?" |
| To vs CC | To = must act; CC = just informed | Maria in To; nobody in CC |
🖍️ Like you're five: if you want a friend to come and play, you don't write a long story. You say: "Want to play football at 4?" They can say yes in one second.
Real life: many busy leaders say they read most emails on a phone and decide from the subject and first lines. Some companies run "email etiquette" training; others ban long internal emails altogether in favour of short memos. The skills are the same: point first, one ask, a clear deadline.
🔨 Do it: 4 tasks
0 / 4 doneTask 1 of 4 · The subject line
Omar needs his boss to approve a $1,200 software purchase by Thursday. Which subject line is best?
Task 2 of 4 · A clear ask
Which ending is most likely to get a useful reply?
Task 3 of 4 · The cost of a long email
An email goes to 30 people. It takes 4 minutes to read. Their time is worth about $60 an hour. What does reading it cost the company?
Task 4 of 4 · One email, one topic
Omar has three unrelated questions for three different colleagues. What should he do?
🧩 Case: Nobody replies
⭐ VIPOmar emailed the warehouse, finance and the courier manager last Monday: a 400-word email titled "Follow-up", asking for data, a budget check and a meeting time, all in paragraph three. It's Friday. Nobody has replied.
Why didn't anyone reply?
What would you do? VIP members make the call, see what happens next across 2 decisions, and get the expert debrief.
🔁 Remember it
The best place for your request is...
Who should be in the To: line?
A good test for any work email is...
Subject = what you need. First line = the point. Last line = one clear ask: who, what, by when. One topic per email, short enough to read in 30 seconds.
📅 Use it Monday
Rewrite the subject line of your next three emails so it says what you need and by when. Notice how fast the replies come.
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