Are You a Sprinter, Jogger, or Walker?
One thing I've learned over the years is that not everyone reads an email the same way.
In fact, I like to think of people in three categories.
The Sprinter.
They read the subject line.
The preview text.
The bolded sections.
They're looking for the highlights and the action items.
The Jogger.
They read a little deeper.
They're interested in the context, but they'll still skim portions of the message.
The Walker.
They read every single word.
Every sentence.
Every detail.
None of these communication styles are better than the others.
They're simply different.
As someone who spends a lot of time communicating through email, I've learned that if I'm unsure who's receiving the message, I write for the Sprinter.
Why?
Because it's the most common type of reader.
People are busy.
They're moving quickly.
They're scanning before they decide whether to slow down.
Interestingly, even AI tools like ChatGPT naturally write this way.
Short paragraphs.
Clear headings.
Logical organization.
Information that's easy to scan.
The benefit is that everyone wins.
The Sprinter quickly understands the message.
The Jogger gets enough context.
The Walker still receives every detail.
That's the goal of great communication.
Not writing more.
Writing more clearly.
So here's something to think about:
The next time you write an email, ask yourself:
If someone only read the subject line, preview, and bolded sections… would they still understand what I'm trying to say?
And I'm curious…
What kind of reader are you?