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This is what happened to Chad.
Chad is a software developer at a trading firm.
Although fluent, English is his second language and this makes him nervous about his communication abilities.
He has also had feedback that his communication can be too aggressive, which has heightened his anxiety.
However, when I meet with him I find a warm, engaging and enthusiastic person who does not seem the least bit aggressive.
So, what is going on here?
To illustrate, I will first outline the situation that led to a lengthy and frustrating email chain, then offer our before and after emails before offering two questions you can ask to avoid putting yourself in Chad’s position.
The situation that led to a lengthy and frustrating email chain
When Chad and I worked through an email chain between him and some overseas colleagues, the issue slowly became apparent.
His communication was polite and detailed.
But it missed one critical ingredient.
Instead of explaining why something needed to be done, he jumped straight into how the overseas colleagues needed to do it.
This, in turn, led to a ten-email chain debating the details of the task, with a heavy overtone of ‘do it yourself’ from the overseas team.
Let's have a deeper look at the issue by reviewing the original email and an alternative.
Our before and after emails
Even though the information is technical, I think you’ll see what I mean when I show you the original (sanitised) ‘so what’ message versus the revised one:
Original – We need your help to come up with the implementation that supports System A in filtering the symbols and foreignID.
Revised – Given our own ABC filtering mechanism leads to a configuration that is hard to maintain, we need your help to implement ‘System A’ in filtering the symbols and foreignID.
Interestingly, the rest of the email changed dramatically too.Â
It no longer consisted of a list of reasons why the suggestions from the overseas team were wrong, it included a list of reasons why he needed their help.
On reflection, he decided that if he had drafted this email in the first place the whole chain of about 10 emails would have been avoided.
And the problem would have been fixed much sooner.
So, how to avoid this happening to you?
Two questions to ask to avoid putting yourself in Chad’s position
This experience raises an important issue for me that I hope will help you also.
Before ‘smashing out' your next email request ask yourself these two questions so you are sure about your audience's situation:
I hope that helps.
Have a wonderful week.
Davina
Keywords: strategy, emails, ESL
IÂ love what I do.
I help senior leaders and their teams prepare high-quality papers and presentations in a fraction of the time.
This involves 'nailing' the message that will quickly engage decision makers in the required outcome.
I leverage 25+ years' experience including
My approach helps anyone who needs to engage senior leaders and Boards.
Recent clients include 7Eleven, KPMG, Mercer, Meta, Woolworths.
Learn more at www.clarityfirstprogram.com
(*) Numbers are based on 2023 client benchmarking results.