Before You Send an Update, Say What You Need Back

A shorter email can still leave the reader guessing. Make the request clear, explain the timing, and keep the uncertainty that matters.

“Let me know your thoughts” gives the reader a surprisingly large job.

They have to work out whether you want approval, advice, a correction or simply acknowledgment. Then they have to decide how quickly you need it.

Before trimming another paragraph from a work update, check whether you have actually said what you need back.

Give the reader a question they can answer

For an approval, name the decision and your recommendation. For advice, identify the part you are unsure about. If you are sharing information, say whether any response is needed.

Different requests deserve different openings.

A useful starting point is:

“I need a decision on ___.” “My recommendation is ___ because ___.” “The main uncertainty is ___.”

Use the wording that fits your work. A routine update may need only a sentence. A consequential decision may require the options, costs and evidence alongside it.

Explain the deadline

A message arriving now does not necessarily need an answer now. But the recipient may read urgency into its arrival.

In a 2021 study of email expectations, Laura Giurge and Vanessa Bohns examined nonurgent work emails sent outside normal working hours. Across eight studies involving 4,004 participants, recipients overestimated how quickly senders expected a response. Explicit notes about response expectations helped reduce that gap.

For your own update, give the real deadline and explain what depends on it. If a reply can wait until normal working hours, make that clear.

Keep the information that could change the answer

Putting the request first should not mean hiding an awkward qualification.

Include the unresolved dependency. Explain what you have assumed. Say which conditions would change the recommendation.

The reader needs enough information to disagree intelligently. Shortening an email until it sounds certain can remove exactly the detail that deserves discussion.

Check whether writing is the whole problem

A clearer request cannot settle who has authority to approve it.

If decisions repeatedly stall, check whether the recipient can make the decision, whether another person must contribute, and what happens while the answer is pending. That may require a conversation about responsibilities rather than another rewrite.

For the next update you send, read only the opening. Can the recipient tell what response you need and when? Then check that the supporting detail includes anything that could reasonably change their answer.

Try that before buying another communication tool. A colleague who knows the work may be able to help you practise. If you want ongoing support, Altvina offers operator-led mentorship for professionals working on communication, judgment and leadership.

More from this week

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• Tuesday: Before You Send an Update, Say What You Need Back (this post)

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