Contents

by Marc Wright

Here’s a simple technique you can learn to ensure more people read, and take action on, your emails. Emails you send are read by less than half their recipients and are acted on by even fewer. This page teaches you, in simple steps, how to write more effective e-mails and how to spread these techniques throughout your organisation.

The Challenge

The most used channel for communication in large organisations is email; however, it is also the most open to misinterpretation. Given that sending an email is a one-way system, senders cannot be sure that recipients have read, understood, or are acting on, an email’s contents.

Solution: The W-H-Y Technique

The W-H-Y Technique has improved the efficiency of e-mails in large organisations such as British Airways. You can learn it in the time it will take to read this page, yet it is a technique that will stick with you for life. Just use the ‘W-H-Y’ device when you sit down to write your next email. ‘W-H-Y’ stands for the three paragraphs or elements of your email:

• ‘W’ stands for ‘WHAT’ – What is this email about? People are not interested in why you have composed an email or the pleasantries of opening chitchat; They have come to your email after reading about a totally different subject or doing some wholly unrelated task. So cut to the chase and tell them what the email is about; and do so using simple, jargon-free active language.

• ‘H’ stands for ‘HOOK’ – What benefit does the recipient get from reading your email? Think about the subject from their point of view and ask yourself, ‘Why should the recipient give a damn?’ Then get that benefit into your second paragraph.

• ‘Y’ is subject of the third paragraph – What do you want your recipient to say ‘YES’ to? It is the call to action.

Subject Title

The subject title of your email is crucial. As it is the only part of your email the recipient is guaranteed to read, as much care and attention should be given to it as a newspaper headline or an advertising copy line.

Write the subject title for your email after you have written your message. Look at your second paragraph then give your email a title that brings the ‘hook’ alive. Finally, check the sense of your message to make sure it is meaningful to anyone who might see it, even if they get to your email weeks or months in the future.

Benefits

• Using the W-H-Y Technique consistently helps your reader to get straight to the point of your email, work out the benefits to them and see what you want them to do.

• People will read further down your email as you draw them into the subject and, by the end, will have a clear idea of what you would like from them.

• If you find your email does not fit the W-H-Y template, then perhaps email is not the best communication medium for your message.

• Communicating something for your recipients’ general awareness should probably go on the intranet; whereas straight ‘calls to action’ are better when delivered in person so perhaps you should go and talk to a colleague, pick up the phone or even make a presentation at the next management conference.

For a simple way to choose the right medium for your message.

Example Of The W-H-Y Technique

You want staff not to use part of the car park next Wednesday as you are holding a customer seminar at the office and need to reserve spaces for an unusually high number of visitors. You know that this will be an unpopular message and that most people will bin an admin email that reads:

Subject: Car Park Closed Wednesday 26th. 

Due to a Marketing running a seminar on Wednesday 26th January, the car park will have 30 spaces reserved for outside visitors. Please do not bring your car to work but, where possible, use alternative arrangements on the day.

John Steel, Facilities Manager.

Instead, now apply the W-H-Y Technique to create an effective email:

Subject: Win A Free Car Valet & Help Us Win New Clients

WHAT

On Wednesday 26th January, 30 potential new clients are visiting us for a seminar on our leadership in new rapid prototyping techniques. The last seminar we ran led to £400k of new business and our winning the prestigious Ford account. These seminars take a lot of organising and investment to get right, and we know that making clients welcome with a personalised space leaves a strong first impression.

HOOK

You can help us win our next large customer by giving up a space in the car park for just one day, on Wednesday. We will reimburse your parking costs and allow you extra time to get to and from work on the day. And your car will go into a draw for a free valet service, on the company.

YES !

Just email me with your offer of a car park space by noon today to be included in the draw and help us win that next client.

Yours truly,

John Steel

Facilities Management

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