Don't Just Say Hello | John's Tips 2024W50

Master effective outreach by moving beyond ‘Hi’ to purposeful communication that gets results, doesn't annoy anyone and builds meaningful connections.

Does this conversation look familiar to you?

We’ve all received that ‘Hi’ message that leads nowhere - or worse, been guilty of sending one ourselves.

That quick hello in the screenshot, followed by radio silence, and then a request when it is nearly too late to be possible?

I’m sure it does look familiar. It has happened to me countless times in my career, and I was also guilty of it myself on a number of occasions until I saw a blog talking about this same topic. (I think it was possibly nohello.net - I didn’t come up with this idea)

This blog is a topic I’ve wanted to write for a while, but usually someone did this to me when I was thinking about writing it, and I shelved the blog again, worrying it might seem pointed towards that person.

It can happen to anyone. You send the first message, then start writing your request only to be dragged into a call, or jump to find context somewhere else and get distracted.

It happens to me all the time, but because I haven’t actually sent anything, it just remains as a draft until I’m ready to send it.

Well, what’s the tip?

When reaching out to someone, especially in a professional context, “Hello” isn’t enough. It’s a common misstep to assume the other person will automatically know your intent or have the time to dig into your message to uncover it.

In today’s fast-paced online workplace, clarity and context are essential if you want your communication to be understood while not wasting any time of the person you are looking for help from.

Think about this scenario: you receive a message on Slack, Teams or your company’s internal chat, and it just says, “Hey” What’s your instinct?

If you’re like most professionals, you wait a minute for the follow up, and then send a response, unsure of the sender’s intentions. If they don’t respond to that, then nobody wins. They may just have popped away for a minute, but now neither side has any information they are looking for, and time has been wasted on both sides.

Here’s how to ensure your message gets the attention it needs, without wasting any time.

Note: This also works in social situations, like connecting with someone on Linkedin.

Start Politely: I do believe in being nice all the time, so I usually start with a friendly hello or hey along with the hand wavy emoji. “Hey John 👋”

Start with Purpose: Its also useful to add a specific reason to why you are reaching out. For example, instead of “Hey John 👋, I wanted to ask for your advice on project ABC.”

This short context allows the receiver to quickly decide when they see the message if they have time to dig in. They might be on a call and need to get back to you later, so this helps them choose if they should context switch or not.

Make Your Ask Clear: End with a straightforward, actionable request. For instance, “Would you be able to do a roadmap review with me to see where we could fit this work onto our timeline?”

Add Context Links: This is just good practise in general to do with any communication in work. If you are asking for help from a person, it’s worth providing them with links to help them complete the work more quickly, or more effectively.

Lets see how Jason’s message would look now.

Jason’s message is concise and polite, getting straight to the point while maintaining courtesy.

This approach doesn’t just respect the recipient’s time; it also positions you as thoughtful and intentional. These are qualities that can leave a lasting impression in the workplace.

So, the next time you’re reaching out, remember: don’t just say hello. Say what matters.

For my past tips check out my past posts here on Substack or check out the hashtag #JohnsTipOfTheWeek on LinkedIn.