You’ve probably experienced that situation where you send a message and get no response. In this article, we’ll go over several tips to help structure your messages in a way that encourages others to read and reply.

There will always be people who don’t pay attention—whether because they’re juggling multiple things, you’re not their top priority, or they have attention deficits.

One thing is clear: if we structure our messages so they’re easier to process, they’ll be better understood.

Over the years, I’ve had to communicate complex messages in a variety of ways: to bosses, students in a classroom, a large social media audience, and more. Eventually, I ended up working in the communications field. This has always been a big challenge for me, as I have an “almost attention deficit,” and organizing my ideas doesn’t come easily.

In this article, I’ll share a few tricks that have helped me communicate more clearly.

We’ll apply these tips to the following message:

Hi Laura, I’ve been busy this week and couldn’t get around to reviewing the document until now. I think it could use a bit more work. I also have a few doubts about the tone we’re using, and I found some typos, which I marked in the text. Could you take a look at my comments in the document? Then we can meet up for a final push. There’s not much time left before the deadline.

Let’s dive in!

Prioritize

Don’t fill your message with noise; remove any information that isn’t relevant.

Knowing how to prioritize is a skill that’s hard to develop and highly valued. To do this, you need to put yourself in the other person’s shoes and identify which information is relevant to them.

As you hone this skill, you’ll find people interrupt you less and listen to you more. This is especially true for your superiors in the workplace, as they are often busy people with a lot on their minds who have to carefully prioritize which information gets their attention.

Applying this to our text:

Hi Laura, I’ve been busy this week and couldn’t get to reviewing the document until now. I think it could use a bit more work. I also have a few doubts about the tone we’re using, and I found some typos, which I marked in the text. Could you take a look at my comments in the document, and then we can meet up to discuss and finalize it? There’s not much time left before the deadline.

Eliminate excuses; get to the point.

Ultimately, we want to increase the information density, to say more in less space. For that, each word needs to be intentional.

Highlight Action Points

Do you need something to be clear, or want an answer to a question? Place it at the beginning, so it’s impossible to miss.

Then, you can expand with other information that provides the necessary context.

Hi Laura.

Could you review my comments in the document, and then we can meet up to discuss and finalize it?

I’ve reviewed the document and think it could use a bit more work. I also have some doubts about the tone we’re using, and I found a few typos, which I marked in the text. There’s not much time left before the deadline.

Enable Diagonal Reading

We’re reading fewer and fewer texts in full these days. Thanks, social media.

Instead, we tend to read in diagonal.

If you bury your ideas in long paragraphs, it’s likely that during a quick read-through, half of what you’re saying won’t make it across.

We typically read the first sentence of a paragraph. From the rest, we only read the beginning, and if it doesn’t grab our attention, we move on. It’s highly likely that a sentence in the middle will be completely ignored unless the text really catches our interest. We usually read the last sentence, as it often summarizes everything that came before.

Keeping this in mind, structure your ideas well.

Separate your paragraphs—one general idea per paragraph. If someone skips a paragraph, they’ll only miss one idea.

If you pay attention, news articles tend to repeat information. First, they summarize the whole article, then they provide a more detailed explanation, and finally, they share additional information. This is because we read by skimming. The first few lines help us determine whether or not we’re interested in a topic. If we’re interested, we keep reading, and when we feel we’re no longer getting interesting information, we move on to the next article.

Structure your messages in the same way. Summarize the key information at the beginning; don’t make your reader dig through multiple paragraphs to find the most important details.

Applied to our example:

Hi Laura,

Document reviewed.

Could you go over my comments in the document, and then we can meet up to discuss and finalize it?

I think it could use a bit more work.

There’s not much time left before the deadline.

——

My comments:

  • I have some doubts about the tone we’re using.
  • I found a few typos, which I marked in the text.

What we’ve done here is:

  • Added a bit of context at the beginning: “Document reviewed,” so the next sentence makes sense.
  • The next most important part is the call to action, a question.
  • Then comes the rest of the information, which is less critical.
  • We’ve separated the comments at the end, as they’re more like an appendix. They’re information to go over once the main message has been read, likely during a second reading when Laura is ready to work on it.

Use an Assertive Tone

Nothing is more demotivating than reading a message from someone who doesn’t value you enough to put themselves in your shoes.

Often, we don’t consider others when writing, and this leads to misunderstandings. We shouldn’t read messages with our own perspective in mind but rather with that of the reader.

Showing courtesy, a positive attitude, and knowing when to clarify things will make others feel seen and understood, and it will encourage them to keep reading.

Hi Laura,

Document reviewed.

  • Please let me know when you’ve reviewed my comments, and we can give it one last push together.

It could use a bit more work, but I think we’re almost there. The deadline is coming up, but I think we’ll make it.

Best, Victor

——

My comments:

  • Overall, I think we should use a more formal tone.
  • I’ve found a few typos, which I marked in the text.

In this text, we’ve:

  • Added “Please.” Saying please, thank you, and sorry are basic ways to show others that you value them.
  • The phrase “let’s meet up to finalize it” in the original text could mean that the work was poorly done. By changing it to “we can give it one last push together,” we’re creating a more collaborative tone, more like “I want us to work together.”
  • Similarly, we added reassuring phrases like “but I think we’re almost there” and “but I think we’ll make it.” The original text was a bit blunt and could cause anxiety for Laura, while the revised text sounds more encouraging.

Lastly, we changed how we communicated the need for a tone adjustment. The original message, “I have some doubts about the tone we’re using,” isn’t actionable. The revised message, “we should use a more formal tone,” gives a clear, actionable direction.

Use Emojis

They might seem unprofessional, but we need to get used to the idea that emojis are essential for effective communication.

Written text has a big problem: it doesn’t convey tone well.

It’s not the same to write:

Okay.

Which can sound sarcastic when so brief.

As it is to write:

Okay! 🎉🎉🎉

Which leaves no room for doubt.

In our text, we’ll use emojis to:

  • Set a friendly tone.
  • Emphasize the action point: ⚠️
  • And reinforce the motivational message: 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼.

Hi Laura, 👋🏼

Document reviewed. 🎉

⚠️ Please, let me know when you’ve reviewed my comments, and we’ll give it one last push together.

It could use a bit more work, but I think we’re almost there. The deadline is coming up, but I think we’ll make it. 💪🏼💪🏼💪🏼

Best, Víctor

——

My comments:

  • Overall, I think we should use a more formal tone.
  • I’ve found a few typos, which I marked in the text.

Extra: Set the Rhythm

One final tip for any kind of text:

Avoid monotony.

Texts have rhythm, just like music. Take this text, for example:

Hi Laura,

I’ve reviewed the document I had pending and have left several comments.

Please let me know when you’ve reviewed them, and we’ll give it one last push together.

It could use a bit more work, but we’re almost there, and we’ll make it to the deadline.

Boring to read, right? Doesn’t it feel a bit monotonous?

When all your sentences are long, they start to feel heavy, and we lose track, then we forget where we were, and we have to backtrack. It gets tiring, and in the end, we might just stop reading altogether.

On the other hand, if all your sentences are short.

Everything feels too fast.

The ideas don’t connect.

And now you’re not sure what you’re reading.

The key is to mix long sentences and paragraphs with shorter ones, and also incorporate other elements like:

  • Images
  • Lists
  • Quotes

This way, if your audience feels sleepy after a long sentence, a short one will snap them back to attention. It’s a way to signal a context change—the brain picks up on it, and focus is restored.

In Summary

We can’t make people read and understand us, but we can make it easy.

By prioritizing information, showing empathy, and aiding skim reading, we make it easier for others to glance through our texts, and we motivate them to respond.