A funny, brilliant woman called Cathy told this story during one of my recent Email Engagement masterclasses:

‘My old boss once told me he used to scan through my long waffly emails looking for question marks.

That was his only way of quickly finding out what on earth it was I wanted!’

Ouch. But we both know that Cathy’s boss isn’t a unicorn, don’t we?

That’s how all of us read online.

Skimming…

Scanning…

In fact, you’re probably doing it now, phone in hand, toast between your teeth, juggling pets/kids/your commute/life.

We’re ruthless about getting the info we need, and then getting the hell out.

So let’s all remember when we next write an email: we’re all writing to Cathy’s boss.