Why Walls of Text Slow Work Down (and a Simple Fix)

Long emails feel thorough, but they often slow things down: the recipient has to extract what matters and what you want them to do.

Why long emails fail

• The ask is buried
• Higher cognitive load
• More room for misinterpretation

The fix: conclusion → request → reason

• Conclusion: the decision or current state (1–2 lines)
• Request: what you need from them (1 line)
• Reason: why it matters (1 line)

Example

After:
“Conclusion: We should proceed with option A.
Request: Could you approve by 5pm today?
Reason: We need to align dependencies for tomorrow’s launch.”