Before looking at the TWO-SECOND MESSAGE system, let’s think about our fundamental email goals. I suggest that the first is to write email that is Nice and Clear. Nice means considerate – no big mystery there. Clear means being “difficult to misinterpret”. I apologise...
The TWO-SECOND MESSAGE system embodies the idea that the purpose of an email must become clear to the reader in just a couple of seconds. More on the reason for this in a moment. The TSM has a few different aspects. Some CFE-specific points essentially capture the...
Here are some situations where it’s best to do nothing. When you’re angry. When you’re paranoid. When your anxious. When you’re tired. And when you sense that that you are doing something just to be liked. In these circumstances, stay cool, and certainly don’t send...
Less is more more or less. In other words, it’s good to write short mails, but if they are too short they become cryptic. For example, the symbols in the sub-bullet are shorthand for ‘less is more, more or less’, but this isn’t obvious at first. So I need to keep...
In summary, the fundamental goals for email are to write mails that are Nice and Clear. And be able to cope with those that are NOT-Nice or Not-Clear. The Two-Second Message system helps with this. Its Think-Write-Pause flow reminds us of the benefits of some quick...
