The Effective Emailer

The ideal length for an email is five sentences. If you're asking something reasonable of a reasonable recipient, simply explain who you are in one or two sentences and get to the ask. If it's not reasonable, don't ask at all. My theory is that people who tell their life story suspect that their request is on shaky ground so they try build up a case to soften up the recipient. Another very good reason to keep it short is that you never know where your email will end up--all the way from your minister to the attorney general of New York. (courtesy of Jonathan) There is one exception to this brevity rule: When you really don't want anything from the recipient, and you simply want to heap praise and kindness upon her. Then you can go on as long as you like!

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