This has happened to me any number of times in my life, and again today. I send an email to someone who has information that I need, and I ask several questions. They answer maybe the first two, with nothing at all about the others. So then I have to email back, thanks but what about these other questions? Maybe I get one or two more answered, if I’m lucky, maybe not. Why does this happen? Is there a good strategy for putting the questions so that the expert will address them all?
I know I’m not fully normal, but if someone who depends on me for information sends me 5 questions in one email (for example) I’ going to answer all 5 questions, or for any that I can’t answer I will say so and that I will follow up when I have the information.
Send them in bullet point format with numbers in front of each question. Request the responder append answers after each question. That way they see that they’ve missed some.
Been there, done that, in a business environment. It moves the needle but not all the way.
Sometimes I think it has to do with the reason why people don’t read an entire post before responding (general observation, not you or anyone in this thread) - maybe they get tired of reading, or they come across one bit that doesn’t compute somehow, and they stop reading.
Do people think they’ve answered all the questions, do they not care, or is it something else?
Anyone care to 'fess up, in the name of research, that they’ve been guilty of this at least once in a while?
I deal with people in Japan, China and Vietnam quite a bit and I found that they prefer that I send questions in a PowerPoint with descriptive pictures. A bit more work sometimes but I can highlight important things in bold and red fonts and they seem to like that. I can also annotate pictures and throw in an NG or OK along with it.
And yes I know that people get tired of PowerPoint, but until mind reading becomes a skill set its the best we have for some things.
Sometimes I get very invested in one question that hits close to my expertise and can get so caught up in answering that one thoroughly that I’ll sometimes lose sight of some other question I don’t know as much about. That’s pretty human, I think, and it borders on neural atypicality to always assign equal weighting to every question in a list.
That being said, my BFF the therapist says there is nothing more frustrating, annoying and infuriating than watching someone process something THEIR way rather than OUR way. I do try to keep that in mind because I can be less than patient with incomprehension in others–my own, of course, is completely understandable and excusable.
I blame top posting. Back when the standard was replies inline with quotes, I would send several questions in different paragraphs and would frequently get replies of the form:
Question?
Answer.
Question?
Answer
Nobody does that anymore. Even I started top posting a year or two ago, because I got bored being the last holdout. Now when I top post, I have to read the quoted portion of the message to make sure that I’m answering everything, and I occasionally miss stuff.
Back then people would still sometimes miss questions, but I don’t think it was quite as common.
Another thing that really helps is to write the original email extremely clearly. I prefer a form such as:
I have several questions. Here is some important background.
Question 1? Exposition about question 1.
Question 2? Exposition about question 2.
It really helps not hiding an “oh yeah, and what color?” in the middle of some paragraph.
All of that, and people will still not answer all the questions, but at least you tried.
If only this were only about the workplace. I had this experience today and I’m retired (OK, it was the other person’s workplace I suppose).
echoreply, that’s very interesting. I don’t think I’ve ever encountered anyone who replied inline with quotes, nor have I done it myself.
SmartAleq, your therapist is, of course, technically correct. However, if anyone wants to show me how answering all the questions is not objectively better than not answering them, or how it’s a valid cultural difference, I’m listening.
IMHO people will not read long emails. If someone (including me) sees a wall of words they are probably going to put that one aside and move on, possibly never to return. I find that if an email is brief enough to not spill off the bottom of someone’s screen, they are more likely to read and respond to all of it.
For getting people to respond to a list of questions, keep them brief and bulleted or numbered, and list them above your long intro/explanation/background, so they are seen first. Be sure to request a “response by xx date” and thank them in advance for their swift response. If you cannot do that, send the questions in separate emails.
REality is that it is a LOT easier for single subject emails.
Ask one question, then put in the background. Get one reply
When you start work and realize you have 100 emails to plow thru in about 20 minutes before sucked into your day, then you blow thru them for the most part.
Are you paying this person for their time spent answering your questions? If not, they probably just got tired of your endless demands on their time. Give them a break already. Send one question, and then thank them sincerely for their answer. Then send another question the next week, apologizing for taking up still more of their time.
If you are paying them, that’s different. If they aren’t being responsive, maybe you need a new employee who has a better grasp of their job duties.
Some people will address them all and some won’t. Bullets are much better from a readability standpoint, but It doesn’t matter what format you put it in. It’s the person on the other end.
Hope that answered your question. Thanks!