At risk of being a grumpy old guy, there’s a cliché of modern life which needs immediate, instant and urgent eradication.
We’re talking the simpering start.
How many times have you received an email which begins:
- I hope you are well.
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Does it make you growl, in the same way as me?
Perhaps immediately put you on edge?
Make you feel far less inclined to treat the contents of the message sympathetically, or helpfully?
Or is this just me being an ageing misanthrope?
(Which is very possible!)
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I hate such simpering starts for a variety of reasons.
First of all, they are so painfully insincere.
In no way whatsoever are they a genuine inquiry about your welfare.
They’re just a thoughtless, automatic, wasteful way of starting an email.
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Secondly, they're clichés.
And if there’s one quick and straightforward way to devalue your communication, and thus credibility…
It’s by using a cliché.
You immediately sound bland, ordinary, and boring - and who wants that?
Just a few seconds thought can always find a far more original and interesting alternative.
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Finally, such banalities as I hope you are well are a waste of words and time.
They add nothing, achieve nothing, and are worth nothing.
They take precious time to write, and valuable time to read.
Not much per message, maybe.
But total up such banalities up over a day, a week, a month...
And it makes for a meaningful amount of time.
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As I may have mentioned, more than one or or twice:
Less is more when it comes to communication.
Say what you need and stop.
Which means definitely no simpering platitudes.
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How then would I suggest starting an email?
Easy. Just get - on - with - it.
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People are busy. The modern world is fast. Getting to the point is appreciated.
So say what you need to say, and don’t worry about some entirely unconvincing veneer of faux empathy.
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Ok, if you know the person, and there's a reason for a gentler start to a message, that's fine. Maybe:
- Thanks for the chat this morning, it helped us focus the proposal. So, here's the new version...
- Missed you at the school gate earlier, when I was going to mention...
- Good work with handling that meeting, it could have got very sticky. So, next...
But if there's no real reason for it, dispense with the banal blatherings and get on with what you've got to say.
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Finally then, my rallying call:
(Think of it as my own rather less compelling version of Henry V's Saint Crispin's Day speech!)
We few, we happy few etc...
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Please join my campaign to STOP THE SIMPERING START.
For efficiency and effectiveness, for originality and humanity, and perhaps most importantly of all…
For my sanity!
