How to Get Every Email Returned

How to Get Every Email Returned

Or at least how to try.

By Trish Hall(hôl)

We’re all writers now. We fling(fliNG) words out into the universe through text(tekst), email, Facebook and more. Even people who hate(hāt) writing have to do it, because you need to text your husband(ˈhəzbənd) back, write your boss a condolence(kənˈdōləns) note and do better on Tinder(ˈtindər) than “hey.”

On average, American adults are texting about 30 times a day, twice(twīs) what they did back in 2011. Not so long ago, these people would have made a phone call; now no one does that except telemarketers(ˈteləˌmärkədiNG) who wake you in the middle of the night. On Facebook, more than half a million comments are posted every minute.

So many words. And too often, they are neither convincing(kənˈvinsiNG) nor entertaining(ˌen(t)ərˈtāniNG). There are ways, however, to write persuasively(pərˈswāsivlē, pərˈswāzivlē) in your everyday life. To break through the clutter(ˈklədər), to get attention and even to bring people over to your side.

In the course of doing research for a book on how people actually change their minds, and what gets them to say “yes” rather than “no,” I was distressed(dəˈstrest) to find that I knew much less about it than I thought I did. I figured that my nearly five years as the New York Times Op-Ed editor gave me a pretty(ˈpridē) strong vantage(ˈvan(t)ij) point on what worked and what didn’t. It did — but I didn’t always know why. What I sensed(sens) intuitively(inˈt(y)o͞oədivlē) about effective(əˈfektiv) writing turned out to rest on some deep psychological(ˌsīkəˈläjəkəl) truths. Understanding them provides(prəˈvīd) tactics(ˈtaktik) that can be exploited(ikˈsploit) in both personal and written(ˈritn) interactions(ˌin(t)ərˈakSH(ə)n).

Some of these rules can be used both in writing and in real life. Until we’ve banished(ˈbaniSH) written communication entirely, we’re going to have to keep doing it — so you might as well get your text messages returned.

Tell the Truth
Be Quick About It
Just Ask
Know Your Audience. That Means Listening.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/25/opinion/sunday/writing-advice.html