It’s really frustrating. Over the years, it has become more obvious, simply because it has become sort of standard. People don’t read your emails… well, at least not thoroughly.
You ask two or maybe three questions, and they answer only one. What’s that? What’s wrong with people? And really, it doesn’t matter if these are clients, business associates, colleagues, or friends and family.
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You take the time to write a clear, detailed message only to get a partial response. Now, recently I did some research about it, and I discovered I’m not imagining this — it’s a recognized phenomenon in digital communication, often driven by cognitive overload and how human brains interact with screens.
First, there’s the Selective Response syndrome. People naturally gravitate toward the easiest question to answer or the most recent one they read. Once they answer that single question, their brain ticks a mental “done” box, and they hit send without reviewing the rest of your message.
Then there’s the In-Box Fatigue problem. People receive high volumes of media, pings, and messages across multiple communication channels. This leads to cognitive overload, a state where the volume of information exceeds the brain’s processing capacity. The result is that people tend to skim for a quick task they can clear out rapidly to reduce their stress, prioritizing speed over accuracy.
And finally, we have the Scan, Don’t Read issue. It means that people nowadays rarely read text chronologically online. Instead, they scan in patterns, jumping to headers, bullet points, or to the very end of paragraphs while skipping the middle entirely. So, if your questions or crucial information are buried inside standard paragraphs, the reader’s eyes will quite literally glide right past them.
So, how do you get better results? How do you get all your questions answered?
Unfortunately, you’ll need to design your emails (or other types of messages, like chat or voice mail) around these human limitations, by adopting one or more of the following tactics:
- One Email/Chat, One Action
You’ll need to break up your questions. You first send an email or text message for Question A, and only send Question B once you get a reply. In addition, ask the most critical question first. - The “Numbered List” Rule
Never write questions in paragraph form. It’s essential to use bold, numbered lists to create visual anchors. - Call Out the Number of Questions
Give peoples brain a heads-up in the subject line before they even open the message, like “Subject: 3 Quick Questions Regarding …” - Mirror Their Style
Adapt your tone and formatting to match the receiver’s preference. If they are notoriously brief, keep it incredibly brief.
Well, it’s unfortunate that we must design our messages for a world where human attention spans are steadily shrinking. But what can you do? You can fight it, but you won’t win. That’s my experience, anyway. You will need to adapt if you still want (some kind of) decent reply.
And, moreover, you’ll need to find a way to deal with it emotionally and mentally if you’re the kind of person that still cares about thoroughness (and expect that from others). The new paradigm in this case is “If you can’t beat them, join them” — but without losing your soul.
