Templates / Work email
Work email
Work emails grow long not because there is much to say but because the ask was never pinned down. This frame puts what you want in the subject and first line, so the reader can act without finishing the body.
Split the request into what and by when. Keep the background to only what is needed to decide, and move the rest to a link or attachment.
What is inside
[By 8/25] Choose between design draft A or B
To:, Cc:, From:
The ask
State what you want in one sentence, first.
Context
Only what is needed to decide, two or three lines.
Request
- What, and by when. One item only.
Closing
Instead of a courtesy line, restate what the reader does next.