Answer (almost) everything with one of four answers.

One thing I think is the cause for a lot of unnecessary miscommunication is being indirect. This is more common in some cultures than others, so your mileage may vary, but here in Australia I think a lot of people mistakenly associate directness with rudeness. A lot of time is spent figuring out what people mean.

Amazon’s writing guide has a really neat solution for this problem. They recommend that you respond to questions with one of four answers:

1. Yes

2. No

3. I don’t know

4. A number

Okay, it doesn’t work with everything, but you get the idea! It’s an easy list to remember, and I find it really helpful to recall when you’re communicating via writing (because you can check). Scan through your reply to someone and ask yourself if you’ve clearly stated yes, no, I don’t know, or a number.

Remember – you can being direct while still being polite, and being direct is being kind. Save your coworkers the guesswork and stress of trying to figure out what you mean. Be clear!

That’s it for this week! (Can you tell I’m sick when the issues are short?) 💖

Credit to this tip is “Write like an Amazonian,” which I found on Danny Sheridan’s blog. There are 4 more little tips in there that you might find useful!