Effective Messages to Small Groups

When you write an email message to a smaller group, you are likely to have a specific purpose related to the work of that group. We noted these possible purposes:

• Arranging and changing meeting times
• Disseminating minutes or notes of discussions
• Asking for agenda items
• Communicating a project’s progress
• Reporting results of proposals

If you keep in mind why you are writing the email message, you can put the most important information at the beginning of the message. Be especially clear about what you expect recipients to do and what deadlines they must meet.

If you're using email messages to initiate group brainstorming, you'll want to include in your message not only what you see as the goal of the group work (for example, we are looking for solutions to problem X) but also a timeline: responses, another round of email messages, and a meeting by specified dates.