Do you use indentation for readability?
Written communication can easily cause misunderstandings. Help the reader understand your message better by:
- Using “>” and indentation when quoting the text from others, like the original email you are replying to.
Note: “>” is not needed when quoting from a web page - Make the question/task followed by the respective answer in a logical order
- Add numbers to tasks if the sender forgot.
Mention you changed the history. E.g. “(added numbers to tasks in the history, so we can clearly refer to them)” - Your text should be always kept to the left
This way you won't forget any questions in the original email.
Note: You do not need to use ">" and indentation, when you are replying to the task that is very clear, because in this case extra text reduces clarity.
| To: | Adam |
| Subject: | RE: Change on Northwind app |
Figure: Bad example - There's too much information with no reasonable order
| To: | Adam |
| Subject: | RE: Change on Northwind app |
Figure: Bad example - Order is OK, but it's using quotes to reference others' text + no indentation + missing numbers on questions/tasks
| To: | Adam |
| Subject: | RE: Change on Northwind app |
Figure: OK example - Even with ">", indentation and numbers, without spacing the text becomes cramped and hard to read
| To: | Adam |
| Subject: | RE: Change on Northwind app |
Figure: Good example - You can clearly see the context of each part of the reply
Tip #1: When using Outlook, the raw “>” character may be automatically formatted to a “>” bullet point. This change is a problem because it may change to a normal bullet point after being sent. To prevent this issue, press Control+Z to turn it back into the raw “>” character.
Tip #2: For those using mobile devices the indentation function is not available, try instead using 3 spaces to indent manually
Tip #3: Note the extra line break after each reply... this helps group each question with it's answer
Tip #4: If you're quoting someone who already used >, you can use >>
Tip #5: Some people also use a different text color in their reply, but this is generally overkill
Markdown
When using Markdown (usually on GitHub), use a ">" symbol to achieve a similar result.
You can find more info about GitHub Markdown syntax at Basic writing and formatting syntax.
Video: Top 10+ Rules to Better Email Communication with Ulysses Maclaren
