25 Words Only is a concept where your team tries to reply to an email in under 25 words. This improves efficiency, cause people to be precise and use words sparingly. It also improves accountability since you can no longer use fairy words to put paper over cracks.
This sort of reply method promotes the habit of being straightforward and honest and direct. It also asks you to remove unnecessary salutations that seem a little too out of fashion, even by today's professional standards.
Why you should use 25 words or less to reply to an email.
In a business, being able to express what you say can mean the following:
- A conference call which could have been a team meeting.
- A team meeting which could have been a Google Meet call with a few team members.
- A Google Meet call with a few members which could have been an email.
From top to bottom this can be quite the time consuming task for all involved and it hurts productivity.
Now we are feeling minimalistic and want to reduce the time on the email, our goal is to keep it to 25 words.
25 words for emails improves efficiency
- No need for unnecessary salutations (forget mistyping regards)
- No fancy words to cover your errors or sugar coat a terrible situation.
- Straight to the point; you will need to come right down to the honest resolution.
- Clears pipeline of work done and where you want to be with the topic of the said email.
Accountability comes with writing emails precisely
- You cannot direct the blame at 5 other people.
- You are equipping yourself with finding the solution.
- There are no uncertainties: no maybe, perhaps, if and buts.
Is it professional to send shorter emails without salutations?
You can send shorter emails without salutations at your workplace only if everyone else is onboard.
In case they are keen on the traditional method of long emails that provide little clarity, then you are the odd man out.
Therefore, the "25 Word Only" method only works within offices where it's acceptable to send short emails.
A 25 word email can still be controversial or off the hook
The idea of using 25 words or less comes from the cold emailing culture where you look a resolution with a short email that explains benefits and call to action.
Your goal with a 25 word email is to provide either of the two - or both.
What can your 25 word email comprise of?
- Yes or no answers to questions asked.
- Appropriate files or links to relevant assets or resources requested.
- Confirmation that a specific task has been carried out.
- Clarity on a current situation.
- Updates on the actions that will be taken soon.
What should your 25 word email not contain?
- Excuses or reasonings so as to why a task was not completed.
- Zingers, taunts or anything untoward to cover your inefficient work.
- Explanations around things that are considered unimportant anyways.
- Fancy words which take the reader away from clarity or closure.
- Arguments or blame shifting that will cause you trouble down the line.
Are 25 word email replies best suited for CEOs, shareholders, etc?
You may have noticed screenshots of emails sent by CEOs like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg that are short and crisp. Minimalist in the truest sense.
That must make you wonder if such a format of 25 word email replies is reserved for CEOs, founders, shareholders, etc.
That is not true:
- There are examples of CEOs sending longer emails too; the best takeaway from those are how concise they are to the receiver.
- Some emails require a short reply, which makes it easier for the other person to understand things quickly and not care about the details surrounding it.
What if I get in trouble for using short email replies?
- Firstly, make sure that your company has a culture accepting short replies in emails.
- Check if it is okay to send short replies as you go higher in the company hierarchy; while some higher level employees send short emails they do not accept the same back, which is down to personal preference.
- Ensure that your reply does not sound rude, uncaring or unprofessional - that it was written without concern for the said topic or issue at hand.
- Read the room: depending on the overall mood, someone might be totally fine receiving short replies at one point and then go off on you for the same at a latter point when things are not going well.
Should I use short replies for customer support tickets?
- If your company culture allows for it, totally.
- I believe in short email replies if it serves the purpose and answers their questions.
- The last time I tried, I loved Gumroad's short email replies on customer support; it feels organic and written by real people which adds to trust and overall customer satisfaction.
I am Anthony, a minimalist generalist helping brands brings results by improving productivity and decreasing workloads.
If you would like to improve your company's productive output without burnouts for employees feel free to schedule a call.
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