For busy professionals and entrepreneurs, time is money. Since writing is a time-consuming form of communication, you probably want to improve your writing speed. Although writing faster helps, you still need to create quality content - which takes time. Therefore, you might be interested to know the best strategies to help you write faster and smarter!
1. Better Writing Through Clear and Concise EmailsÂ
Typing faster can save time. However, mistakes can occur if you are writing too fast. So one of the best ways to speed up and save time is to slow down; and write better quality emails. This will save you time in the overall communication process. Better quality emails are more clear and concise. Better emails can also work wonders in effective communication, eg motivate the team, build goodwill with clients and encourage action among stakeholders.
Whether addressing management or anyone else, a clear structure and organized content is also key. Clearly defining headings and breaking up large blocks of text into smaller sections and paragraphs will help you get your point across quickly and effectively, especially when emails are urgent. When your content is organized clearly with headings, sections and clear paragraphs you become more persuasive because your ideas are logical and coherent. Plus you will look more professional in crucial email conversations with management.
Even though you might feel overwhelmed by the sheer number of emails, taking the time to craft concise communications goes down very well with your superiors and everyone else. So, keep your writing concise and professional, eg with active voice. Learn all the specific strategies for writing more concisely. This allows for clear and concise messaging that is more direct and engaging. Remember to choose your words wisely and remain mindful of your tone in all communications. Better writing will be better for your career.
Note also that being concise does NOT mean you use the fewest number of words. To be concise, use the RIGHT number of words. If you use the fewest possible words, your writing may be too short, sound rude and omit important details. So, using the right number of words will save you time later and avoid having to write time-consuming clarification emails.
2. Strategies for Writing Emails Faster
To write faster, consider creating templates and FAQs for commonly used emails; and customize them for individual recipients. (There’s no need to start each email from scratch.) This will help ensure that all emails remain consistent and streamlined, freeing you to focus on other tasks.Â
Maintain a laser-focused mindset of keeping messages short, polite and direct. Check that you include clear instructions on what needs to be done so there is no miscommunication. (For more ideas, refer to the blog on ‘Strategies To Conquer Your Inbox And Boost Productivity’.)
DON’T SLOW DOWN YOUR READERS. Avoid using overly complicated language and long drawn-out emails. Perhaps you will find that emails are faster to write when you use a more conversational style of language. In addition, you should learn strategies to write concisely - fewer words, shorter emails. Management and stakeholders don't have time for long over polite emails that are full of details. So, summarize, conclude, give overviews and highlights. Then, your readers will be able to read faster.
3. Tips for Getting Faster RepliesÂ
Subject lines: when addressing management and busy readers, it's critical that your subject line summarizes the crux of the conversation. This ensures that you catch their eye, get noticed and helps them prioritize tasks.Â
Concise writing: don't waste their time, get to the point with relevant and succinct information - keep it short and sweet! Then, end your business emails with a clear message, a call to action or next steps. This will make it easier for them to consider your request and answer promptly.Â
Set deadlines: so your readers know the appropriate dates and urgency. (If there’s no urgency at all, they might not reply.) Also, even if they don’t reply by the deadline, your readers will expect you to follow up. They know that if the issue really is important, YOU will follow up. So, you should expect readers to miss deadlines and you will follow up proactively on deliverables.
Help them reply: list clear options and decisions to be made. Help your readers make an informed decision. If you work hard to ensure the decisions are easy to make, they will find it easier to answer you.
Provide templates and sufficient information: some of the responses you need are the same for many of your emails. So create some templates. Also, ensure that you provide sufficient information and examples of what you need and expect. Then, your readers will be more likely to understand what’s required and reply quickly with the right responses. You know exactly what you need - they don’t.
Furthermore, you will also receive faster replies if you can add a button for them to click and provide their choices, eg Monday at 10am or Tuesday at 11am? Clicking a response button is much easier than typing a few words in a reply email. Or you can share a file in cloud storage that everyone can enter information and update in real time.
4. The Benefits of Writing EfficientlyÂ
Writing a business email is an important responsibility and one that could determine the outcome of an entire project or a large sale. Also, when you write effectively, this shows that you can think clearly. Taking the time to provide a succinct message will yield favorable results for you. Writing succinctly shows customers and colleagues that you can work under pressure and communicate without any misunderstanding. However, if a message is not delivered properly, potential miscommunication will occur, resulting in wasted time and resources. Who would want that?
Therefore, you should consider communication skills as a fast and efficient way to succeed in business! Responding quickly to emails can help you navigate the pressures of work and demonstrate that you are a reliable team member - one who can handle responsibility and pressure well. With solid communication skills, it will be easier to demonstrate leadership qualities and build the business relationships needed for success.
5. Streamlining Your Business Email Process For Maximum Efficiency
Due to the lack of time, we can often struggle to keep our emails organized and sent on time. Fortunately, this can be resolved by automating and scheduling emails. Through setting up filters, Outlook or Gmail can perform triage and prioritize all your emails. By creating filtering rules that move emails into specific folders, you can ensure that important messages get the attention they deserve. This allows you to quickly check and respond. (Using filters is an often overlooked feature available in Outlook and Gmail.) Also, you can use canned automatic responses to reply promptly.
6. Provide Training to Enable Workers to Write Effectively
Ensuring workers are given the appropriate tools to write in a professional tone might require ongoing training. This will provide workers with the necessary skills and knowledge to craft emails that meet business objectives. Writing effectively should be emphasized during this process, enabling employees to create messages that stay focused on the primary goal at hand.
Providing essential training to your team will help ensure successful communication. With proper training and techniques, businesses can promote effective communication that meets their business objectives and serve their customers even better.
Final thoughts
Which of these suggestions will you include in your writing? Include some of these ideas today to start making a difference to your emails and work productivity.
