--- title: Getting people to read (and respond to) your emails description: Studies have shown that people are more likely to respond to emails written in a simple, straightforward manner than to emails with more complex language. In fact, emails written at a 3rd grade level --- [Skip to content](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/read-respond-emails#main-content) [![Target_Logo_ORIGINAL.png](https://hs.targettraining.eu/hs-fs/hubfs/Target_Logo_ORIGINAL.png?width=150&height=46&name=Target_Logo_ORIGINAL.png)](https://www.targettraining.eu/) Open main navigation Close main navigation - [Contact us](https://hs.targettraining.eu/en-gb/contact) [Contact us](https://hs.targettraining.eu/en-gb/contact) [All posts](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/all) January 21, 2020 # Getting people to read (and respond to) your emails By  [George Barse](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/author/george-barse)  ·  3 minute read **As everyone already knows, email is ubiquitous - in both our private and professional lives. Emails are easy to write and send - and we are inundated with them daily. As an** [in-house business English trainer](http://www.targettraining.eu/in-house-business-english-incorporate-trainer-2/) **at a major production site, I see daily the frustrations this can cause – not just for those receiving 90+ mails day (or 1 every 5 minutes!), but also for those sending the mails - knowing they may need to wait a while before hearing a reply. Recently, a manager I train in the automotive industry asked “How can I increase the chances that people respond to my emails?”** **Studies have shown that people are more likely to respond to emails written in a simple, straightforward manner than to emails with more complex language. In fact, emails written at a 3rd grade level have been shown to have the highest response rate! So put away those thesauruses and get rid of those dependent clauses! Simple, concise writing is a main driver in increasing your response rate. As with any writing,** [placing your reader’s needs first is a must](http://www.targettraining.eu/item/reader-oriented-writing-skills-seminar/). **There is no one magic formula for guaranteeing that people will respond to your email, but it's important that you write emails that people *will* read. The tips outlined below will definitely *tip* the odds in your favour!** ## [![Writing emails that people read: Free eBook download](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/455190/f25b6e29-70a1-4c73-bf91-8fba347b1522.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/455190/f25b6e29-70a1-4c73-bf91-8fba347b1522)TIP 1 – Keep your subject line obvious and short Short, simple and obvious subject lines of only 3-4 words get the most responses. The most important thing, though, is to make sure the meaning is clear. Clarity beats ambiguity every time! [Military personnel often use keywords](https://hbr.org/2016/11/how-to-write-email-with-military-precision) e.g. ACTION, REQUEST, DECISION, INFO. This helps the reader immediately understand the purpose of the email. Then, just a couple more words to clarify the subject. Example: - Prod Spec (vague) - End User Prod spec file plz send (relevant words but could be easier to understand the meaning!) - Request- Send Product Specifications file (optimal!) ## TIP 2 – Use simple language As part of my job, I work with engineers [providing on-the-job English training](http://www.targettraining.eu/item/what-is-on-the-job-training/). Last week Klaus (not his real name) asked me to help him understand a mail from a supplier. Klaus was struggling to understand …“*Hitherto now, I have been unable to place the whereabouts of your aforementioned order, to which I would like to offer the following proposal, able to be fulfilled forthwith”.* Working together with Klaus we simplified it into “*We’re sorry but we can’t find the order you mentioned in your email. However, we can suggest the following immediate solution …”. * As Klaus rightly said – why didn’t they just say that? ## TIP 3 – Write human In addition to simplicity, write with emotion! It doesn’t matter if that emotion is positive or negative, writing with *any* emotion is better than writing a neutral email with absolutely no emotion. The bottom line is: use a believable amount of emotion without getting too hostile or overly-sentimental. Example of increasing positive emotion: - I want to meet next week to discuss my proposal. (neutral) - I would love to meet next week to discuss my proposal. (better but maybe a little over the top) - I’m definitely interested in meeting next week to discuss my proposal with you! (best!) Example of increasing negative emotion: - Our experience with your product did not meet our expectations. (neutral) - From my experience today, I find the quality of your product to be sub-par. (better but “sub par” isn’t simple English) - Your product sucks. (too much human) - Based on my experiences today, the quality of your product is far below our expectations (best!) ## **TIP 4 – Write short sentences and paragraphs** When writing your email, make sure it’s an appropriate length. Imagine if you received a novel in your inbox. Would you even bother to read the first sentence? Probably not! The optimal length of an email is roughly 50-125 words, and the response rate slowly drops off as the emails get longer.  When you really need to write longer emails use sub-headings to break the text up. ## TIP 5 – Keep the dialogue moving with clear questions One final way to increase the chances your email will receive a response is to include a task, so ask a few questions! Otherwise, the recipient will most likely assume the purpose of your email is nothing more than to inform. Statistically, 1-3 questions are optimal. Any longer and it becomes a questionnaire, which quickly sends the email to the “do later” box. As I wrote earlier, you won’t get a response to every email you write, but you can change how you write your emails so that you are more likely to get a response when it counts most! And remember to use the phone or video calls if something is important, urgent or contains an emotional message. #### Keep on developing your email writing skills with these blog posts - [Why, statistically speaking, your emails probably aren’t as clear as you think they are](https://hs.targettraining.eu/?p=17625) - [Establishing effective email etiquette in your virtual teams](https://hs.targettraining.eu/?p=14747) - [Writing escalation emails: 8 tips to help you strike the right tone](https://hs.targettraining.eu/?p=13896) And if you’re looking for training (delivered virtually or face to face) then check out … - [https://www.targettraining.eu/item/emailing-telephoning-business-english-seminar/](https://hs.targettraining.eu/?p=16832) - [https://www.targettraining.eu/item/reader-oriented-writing-skills-seminar/](https://hs.targettraining.eu/?p=17015) Share: [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/read-respond-emails) [linkedin-in icon](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/read-respond-emails) [twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/read-respond-emails) [pinterest-p icon](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/link/?url=https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/read-respond-emails) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/read-respond-emails) ## Related posts [![Practical rules and resources for writing quality emails](https://hs.targettraining.eu/hubfs/raw_assets/public/@marketplace/Drive_Web_Studio/Accelerator/images/img-blog-card-default.png)](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/practical-rules-and-resources-for-writing-quality-emails) [Business English](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/tag/business-english) ### [Practical rules and resources for writing quality emails](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/practical-rules-and-resources-for-writing-quality-emails) [![Finance Emails: Quick Tips for Clarity](https://hs.targettraining.eu/hubfs/raw_assets/public/@marketplace/Drive_Web_Studio/Accelerator/images/img-blog-card-default.png)](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/5-ideas-for-writing-clear-finance-emails) [Business English](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/tag/business-english) ### [Finance Emails: Quick Tips for Clarity](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/5-ideas-for-writing-clear-finance-emails) [![Getting the tone right in your emails - part 2](https://hs.targettraining.eu/hubfs/raw_assets/public/@marketplace/Drive_Web_Studio/Accelerator/images/img-blog-card-default.png)](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/getting-tone-right-emails-part-2) [Business English](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/tag/business-english) ### [Getting the tone right in your emails - part 2](https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/getting-tone-right-emails-part-2) Copyright © 2026, Target Training GmbH ### Training you to succeed globally ```json { "@context" : "http://schema.org", "@type" : "Article", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : [ "George Barse" ], "url" : "https://hs.targettraining.eu/training-business/author/george-barse" }, "datePublished" : "2018-03-14T10:20:19+0000", "description" : "Studies have shown that people are more likely to respond to emails written in a simple, straightforward manner than to emails with more complex language. 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