The Art of Following Up Graciously
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Tip
We’ve all been there: You email someone asking for a conversation, information, input, or an introduction ... and you get no response. It’s frustrating, but you shouldn’t jump to the conclusion that you’re being ghosted. We’re all juggling a lot these days, so here’s how to reach out with a gentle nudge.
Start with a compelling subject line. Avoid generic phrases like “Following up” or “Checking in” that are not only vague, they may also make the recipient feel bad for being slow to respond (even further delaying a reply). Instead, be more specific, for example, "Next steps on X project” or “Question on job application.”
Next, be mindful of your tone. Research shows emails that are slightly to moderately positive in tone have a 10 to 15% higher response rate than more neutral messages. So aim to be friendly and polite.
Finally, be succinct and specific about your ask — and offer your recipient an easy out. This will give them an opportunity to save face and preserve the relationship. If you do all this and you still don’t get a response, be judicious about following up again. You may need to cut your losses and move on.
Translations
🇨🇳 礼貌跟进的艺术
我们都经历过：你给某人发电子邮件询问谈话、信息、意见或介绍……而你没有得到回应。 这是令人沮丧的，但是你不应该妄下结论说你被鬼魂附身了。 这些天我们都在忙忙碌碌，下面是一些如何用肘轻推的方法。
从引人注目的主题开始。 避免使用诸如“跟进”或“签到”这样的笼统短语，因为它们不仅含糊不清，而且可能会让接收者因为反应迟钝而感觉糟糕（甚至进一步延迟回复）。取而代之的是更具体，例如，“X 项目的下一步”或“求职中的问题”。
接下来，注意你的语气。研究表明，语气稍微积极到适度积极的电子邮件的回复率比更多的中立邮件高 10 - 15%。所以要以友好和礼貌为目标。
最后，你的请求要简洁而具体，让收件人更容易接受。这将给他们一个挽回面子和维持关系的机会。如果你做了所有这些，你仍然没有得到回应，明智地再次跟进。你可能需要减少损失，继续前进。
