Author Lewis Carroll once said, "The proper definition of a man is an animal that writes letters." In today's world, we might adjust that quote slightly: "The proper definition of a person is an animal that writes emails."
Nowadays, email writing is the dominant form of communication. It is a blessing, facilitating instant communication worldwide, and a curse, susceptible to overuse and misunderstanding. A hastily sent email can have serious consequences, on an interpersonal and organizational level.
In the US, professionals already spend an average of two to three hours per day checking their work emails. To prevent emails from stealing more of your time, let ChatGPT do some of the heavy lifting.
Here's how I leverage the AI tool to write and improve emails, and avoid misunderstandings, time sucks, and clumsy communication misfires.
When your message pings into someone's inbox, the recipient should recognize the objective of the email without even opening it.
Before you begin drafting your email, take a moment to identify your goal. Every email should solicit an action on behalf of the recipient. (If an email doesn't have a clear objective, consider whether another form of communication would be more appropriate.)
Once you identify your goal, it's time to craft your subject line -- critical for ensuring that the recipient reads your message. Here's a prompt you can use to get instantaneous suggestions for effective subject lines from ChatGPT:
"Can you suggest a couple of subject lines for an email? I am sending the email to [recipient] and requesting [email objective]. The subject line should include a verb so the recipient knows what action I want them to take."
You can also give ChatGPT examples of effective subject lines and ask it to replicate the style.
If your subject line is your first line of defense (against an ignored or deleted email), then your opening line is the second. The first line (or first two lines) should clearly state your call to action. Harvard Business Review offers the following email formula: Start with the action you want them to take, follow up with the context of why you require that action, and then end by letting them know you're available for questions.
Here's a prompt to enlist ChatGPT to polish your opening line:
"Can you review the opening line of my email and make it as effective as possible? The opening line should clearly state the action I'm requesting of the recipient. The tone should be [tone, e.g. professional, casual, witty, etc]. Here is the current opening line: [insert your opening line here]."
After you finalize your opening line, it's time to draft the body of your email. Here, you want to give your recipient context -- the reasoning behind your request, supporting information, additional questions to consider, etc.
Research has found that workers receive an average of 120 emails per day. That's a ton of messages competing for one person's attention. To boost the chance that the recipient reads your email from start to finish, it must be clear and concise, and have a logical flow.
Try this prompt to ensure that your email body catches and holds your reader's attention:
"Could you please review the body of my email and make it as effective as possible? The body should be concise, clear, and hold the reader's attention. It should logically flow from call-to-action to context to offering availability to discuss or answer any questions. Also, please suggest any language that would be more engaging. Here is the current email body: [insert email body]."
Feel free to add context, like the desired tone, to help ChatGPT help you craft a more effective email.
Supporting research and data can strengthen your email when you want to drive home a point. ChatGPT can act as your assistant research editor, reviewing the text and identifying points that could be strengthened with outside research. Here's a prompt to try:
"Can you review the following email and identify any parts that can be supported with research or data? Please provide a link to the corresponding sources, and organize your suggestions in a list. Here is the email: [insert email text]."
Importantly, I wouldn't recommend blindly copying and pasting ChatGPT's citations -- always double-check them. ChatGPT is efficient and cost-effective, but reliability isn't its strong point.
In the publishing world, a sensitivity reader is someone that a publishing house hires to read a book (prior to publication) to spot any potentially offensive or polarizing content. In today's world, where emails can be screenshotted and shared, there's no such thing as being too careful about how your message will be perceived. Even the writer with the best intentions can get into hot water with a hastily sent email.
Use ChatGPT as an extra pair of eyes to review an email for sensitivity issues. Here's a prompt you can use:
"Can you review the following email for any sensitivity issues? I want to ensure that the content does not offend the reader based on their demographic characteristics, including but not limited to age, gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, or disability. Here is the email: [insert email text]."
You've drafted an engaging email with a killer subject line, a crystal clear call to action, and a handful of supporting sources. Now is not the time to waste all that hard work on a needless typo -- the fastest way to lose credibility in your reader's eyes. ChatGPT can review your email with a fine-toothed comb and ensure no errors slip through the cracks. This prompt will do the trick:
"Could you please review the following email for spelling and grammar errors? Provide a detailed list of any errors, including incorrect word usage, and any overall suggestions to ensure the email is completely error-free. Here is the email: [insert email text]."
If you've seen my byline before, then you likely know that I'm an avid proponent of automation. In my book, I recommend that readers create templates for any emails and questions they frequently receive. ChatGPT can help you prepare the templates, which you can then save in your email program with easy-to-recognize labels. Whenever you receive a query that matches a template category, update the recipient information in the template and send the email. Try this prompt:
"I would like you to draft an email template for me. The template is for responding to emails I receive about [insert subject]. The response I would like to give is [insert response]. Please conclude the email by stating that I am available to discuss further. The tone should be [insert tone, e.g., casual yet professional]."
An email can make or break a relationship, a project, or a deal. Rather than falling down the rabbit hole of fretting over each word and editing ad nauseam, let ChaGPT do some of the busywork for you.
