A sales manager from a major telco recently told me he gets 100–150 emails daily. How do you get someone in an information avalanche like that to absorb your message?

Since most of your readers would say they’re busy, here’s how to write for them:

1. Big news first: Cut to the chase! People don’t have time for preamble. This is the journalist’s “inverted pyramid”.
2. Key Points: Take a tip from the Australian Financial Review – start your doc with a “Key Points” box of two-to-four bullet points summarising your message.
3. Be brief: Write as concisely as you can. That means plain English, active voice, and no waffle or redundant words. More: Keep it Short, Sport.
4. Subhead signposts: Flat-out readers will skim-read, so catch their eye with subheads that tell the story. More: A GPS_for_Your_Reader
5. Stand in their shoes: Be empathic. If you were them, what would you be looking for? You’d probably be trying to work out what’s relevant in the message, what priority to make it, and what’s next. So make those things clear to your reader.
6. Change mediums: I’m not talking about Madame Zorba, but about sending your message in a medium that’s not already overloaded. If the person you’re trying to reach gets 100 emails a day, consider communicating another way, e.g. by phone, SMS, instant message, postcard, internal mail, or carrier pigeon.

The information avalanche is here to stay. But smart writers can work around it.

What’s your favourite tip? Please share it below!