如何用正確的方式催促那些不鳥你的人。
當你苦苦等待你的同事、領導、教授、客戶或者潛在僱主回覆你很早之前發送給他們的郵件時,你的內心是痛苦的。你會變得焦慮,甚至會懷疑是不是這些人故意針對你所以才不回覆你的郵件。求而不得是一種很難受的感覺,於是你鼓起勇氣,發送了一封儘量顯得不那麼具有攻擊性的郵件表達你的催促:Just checking in。
- “Just checking in to see if you got my invoice.”
- “Just checking in to see if you’ve completed that report I asked for.”
- “Just checking in to make sure you’re coming to the meeting.”
- “Just checking in — did you get this, and are you able to meet with me?”
當你發送“Just checking in,”你其實想說的是:“不要忽略我,我需要回復,立刻馬上!”儘管“Just checking in”感覺上非常的謙恭和溫柔,但實際上卻令人感覺非常的不真誠。“Just”這個詞表明我們想極力地弱化我們想要表達的問題,而“checking in”自帶一種隨意性的底色。這與你想要達成的目標實際上背道而馳。那麼如何去發送一個催促的郵件才最有效呢?以下的幾個小貼士可以幫助你起草一封完美的郵件。
學會換位思考
當你望眼欲穿地等待別人回覆你的郵件時,反觀一下自己的郵箱裡堆積了多少等待你回覆的郵件。每個人都非常忙,而每個人的精力都是有限的,所以把對方分配有限注意力的力不從心曲解成針對你的惡意真的是大可不必。把對方當做一個普普通通的人,用理解的態度去措辭,就能達到事半功倍的效果。把對方當做一個普通人意味著:
- 每個人都會強迫症般地查看自己郵箱裡的新收到郵件,但是有時手邊的事情突然忙起來就耽擱了下來,然後再次查看郵箱的時候,之前的那一封郵件已經被新來的郵件掩埋在收件箱裡了。
- 每個人都會被其他各種各樣的瑣事纏身。
- 當別人提醒你需要回復他/她的郵件時,表示感激,而非煩躁。
可以參考以下的模板來起草一封適用於你的催促郵件:
Hi [First Name],
At the risk of being a [nudge, nag, pest], I’m floating this back to the top of your inbox.
I know how much you must have to get done before you leave, and I hope I can get my idea in front of you in that time.
If an in-person meeting is tough to schedule right now, would it be easier to hop on the phone?
All I need is [number] minutes, and I can be available at any time that works for you.
Looking forward to hearing back.
Thanks so much!
[Your Name]
直截了當並表示理解
除了“Just checking in”之外,你可以用以下的開篇方式來表現真誠。有些語句比較正式,有些則語氣隨意。按照你與接收者的關係選擇最適合你的一款。
- I’m circling back to see if you’ve had a chance to think about this.
- I’m floating this back to the top of your inbox.
- I know how much you have on your plate, so I’m putting this in front of you again and would love your take.
- I wanted to touch base with you about this [idea, issue, project, event].
- At the risk of being [overeager, a nag, a nudge], I’m popping into your inbox again to see if we can move this forward.
- I hope this is an appropriate time to circle back with you.
- I hope this is a good time to pick this conversation back up.
- Hi! I’m here to bug you about this again.
為對方提供簡單的回覆選項
很多的時候,人們不回覆郵件是由於問題的複雜性,使得回覆變成了一個冗長繁瑣的體力活。如果你可以在郵件中提供給對方可供選擇的簡單的選項,那麼你收到回覆的概率會大大增加。
如此為你的收件方提供了非常清晰且簡便的選項,在你讓對方的工作變得簡單的同時,你的麻煩也會隨之而去。以下為大家提供一個非常實用的模板作為參考:
Hi [First Name],
At the risk of [nagging, bugging you, driving you nuts, being overly persistent], I’m [circling back, following up, moving this to the top of your inbox, putting this in front of you again, cheerfully hunting you down].
I know how busy you are with [fill in with specific detail if possible].
[OPTIONAL: Add compliment, like: By the way, I loved your recent post, talk, interview. So inspiring!]
Would love to make this as easy as possible for you. Would it be better if we [suggest alternative way to communicate]?
Looking forward to hearing back. [OPTIONAL: Offer an easy out, like: If I don’t, I’ll assume it’s a pass for now or if this isn’t a good time, say the word and I’ll circle back next month.]
Thanks so much!
[Your Name]
在執著和耐心之間尋找平衡
當然,有了以上的模板並不意味著就可以無所顧忌肆無忌憚地向你的同事們開火。有時我們也要想一下,你所要求的事項真的是緊急到刻不容緩的程度了麼?在點擊發送之前,靜下來仔細想一想,會對自己有很大的幫助。只是記得,從此以後,不要再發“Just checking in”這句話了。
英賢君說
以上全文選自2019年1/2月合刊的《Money》雜誌。很多情況下,在一個大組織裡,想要推動一件事情需要很大的耐心去協調很多人,如果是涉及到跨部門那麼就會更加複雜。這種時候,一封禮貌又有效的催促郵件真的會起到事半功倍的效果。
世界如此荒涼,只能培養一顆寂寞的心。
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