Be Clear and Ask for What You Want

The other day, someone sent me a message through the “Contact” form on my website. The message was vague. The person said they saw my blog and were doing a project related to mental health that aimed to educate people about mental health topics by “possibly working with platforms like mine.”

I had no idea what the person wanted. It could have been any number of things. Because the email was unclear, I couldn’t make a decision about whether I was interested or not. In situations like this, I usually just delete the email and move on. I get tons of email each day, and I don’t have time to try to figure out what a person is asking for.

There’s a lesson here when you are reaching out to someone you don’t know. People are busy and get lots of random requests. If you want a response back, be crystal clear about who you are and what you want. When you are clear, the other person can make an informed decision about how they would like to respond to you. They may say no, but at least they know what they are responding to.

Discussion

When you reach out to someone you don’t know, are you clear or vague? If you are vague, why? What is one step you could take toward being clearer in your communication?