How to email your boss and get them to respond

Start your email with a
question.
Strelka
Institute/Flickr

• When you email your
  boss, be sure to start the message with a phrase like, “Do you
  think…?” Then outline a potential solution to the
  problem.
• It signals to your boss that it’s an “easy” email that
  they can digest and quickly respond to, writes Catie L’Heureux
  on The Cut.
• Another expert recommends being very clear in the
  subject line about what you need and when.

Over on
The Cut, associate managing editor Catie L’Heureux has some
great advice for emailing your very busy boss.

Simply put, start the email with a question like, “Do you think…”
or “Could we…” or “Will you confirm…”

That way, your boss can reply “yes” or “no,” and doesn’t have to
read — or pretend to read — a novel-length missive just to learn
that you need an extension on a project deadline.

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Here’s one of L’Heureux’s examples: “Could
we please pay X freelancer the usual $Y to complete Z
task? [Tell her what the task is, and why this freelancer is the
best person for the job]”

That part where you explain (briefly) why you’re proposing said
solution is key. Business Insider previously
reported on similar advice from Jocelyn Glei, author of
“Unsubscribe:
How to Kill Email Anxiety, Avoid Distractions, and Get Real Work
Done.”

“If you’re asking a question, propose a solution,” Glei wrote.
“Messages that offer nothing but a question like — What
do you think about X? — are generally ineffectual. Busy
people don’t want to figure out your problems for you, and they
don’t want to write you a lengthy response.”

Allison Green, who writes the “Ask
a Manager” column, also recommends taking full advantage of
the subject line. Two examples she gives are: “TO APPROVE:
September mailing draft (need by July 15)” and “are we ready to
make Craig Jones an offer?”

Then again, sometimes you need more than a quick “yes” or “no.”

If you’re stuck on a project and absolutely can’t proceed without
your boss’ guidance,
The Muse’s Kat Boogaard recommends sending your boss an email
that says: you’re stuck, you’ve tried these two tactics, and
you’d like to sit down with them on this day to talk it over.
(The full template appears in The Muse article.)

On The Cut, L’Heureux also shares some tips for replying to your
boss’ emails. If your boss writes, “Will you do X?” you’d be wise
to write back something like, “Of course. I can email it to you
by 3 p.m.: a single page focusing on X, Y, and Z. Does that sound
right?”

Again, it’s all about making it easy for your boss to respond and
for you to get the information you need. A win-win if there ever
was one!