Simple, Quick, and Impactful Things We Can Do to Make Other People's Lives Easier
Photo by Kari Shea
Last week on LinkedIn, I posted a list of four quick but impactful things we can do to make other people’s lives easier. Specifically:
When someone sends a big document, deck, proposal, or deliverable: drop a quick note to say "received," or "got it!." There are few things worse than working for hours and hours to meet a deadline, and then hearing crickets....!
2. When we promise something by end of day and 'end of business day' turns into 'end of 24 hour day,' drop a quick note to say, "this will be coming your way by 9 pm." This reduces stress for others who might be anxiously awaiting the deliverable and allows everyone to breathe a bit more easily.
3. If we are sending something as "FYI" only, state that in the email opening, or in the subject line. This allows quick and easy filtering + skimming, especially for folks who get a lot of email.
4. If we are inviting someone to a meeting or coffee, suggest some possible times up front.
When we say, 'we should get coffee sometime!' or 'we should meet about that!' we are lobbing an ambiguous invitation + the task of scheduling over the fence to the other person.
Others from the community chimed in with several excellent additions to the list. They included:
Don't schedule a generic "touch base" without sending at least a little bit of additional context. Whenever people receive these they tend to fill in all the worst case scenarios. I try to at least share a little bit of info without a novel. "I wanted to talk to you some more about xyz." Thank you, Nicole K!
When scheduling a meeting, including in the invite the stated objective/purpose for the meeting, then outline the agenda to help guide the discussion. Even if the agenda is not strictly followed it will help people to come prepared to actively participate. Thank you, Bob H!
If you need active participation in an email, put those folks in the To line. FYI is in CC line. And call out specific people you need follow-up from with their name in bold or @nicole tag. Thank you, Nicole L!
Make subject lines really clear, so that they are easily searchable later. Thank you, Ellie S!
If you read the message but need time to think before answering, let the sender know this. Thank you, Kim R!
Never send a txt or Direct Message to someone with a “Hello, are you around?” Or “do you have a moment” and then wait to ask your question after they respond, ask it right away. This prevents interruptions and In some cases anxiety and guessing where the receiver is wondering what the topic is. Thank you, David B!
I would also add letting someone know if you’re not moving forward with a project that they’ve been involved with or proposing on, so they can take it off the possible to-do list. Thank you, Jane B!
If you need 30 minutes of someone's time, tell him/her that. Indicating you "only need five minutes" isn't helpful. Thank you, Ryan A!
Expanding on #3, putting in the subject line "Action Requested" or "Response Requested", but in general making the subject line specific. Thank you, Whitney H!
Anything you would add?
Thank you Nicole, Bob, Nicole, Ellie, Kim, David, Jane, Whitney, and Ryan for the excellent tips!