smerickson

When you email busy people, you might believe the best option you can give them is to offer a wide set of options (“I’m available any time in fall 2010. Choose a day that works for you!”) You imagine you’re being generous. Accommodating. You’re not imposing on the busy person.

Yet what you’ve done, in one fell sentence, is impose more busy work on an already busy person. You’ve forced that person to take at least four steps:

1) Open a calendar to check not a single date, but an entire spectrum of time.

2) Draft an original set of sentences, rather than a brief “Great, the XX of Sept is confirmed,” or a simple “Yes.”

3) Wait for additional emails in response to aforementioned new sentences, and respond accordingly.

4) Repeat.

While it may seem presumptuous, proposing — diplomatically — a specific date to a busy person is welcome. “How does 11 a.m. on Tuesday, September 17 work for you?” with proper lead time and an alternate. This specificity is wonderfully refreshing and leaves the door open for an alternate suggestion, or simply a single-word email response