You know that email?You know the one.

The subject line says "Important Update", so you open it expecting something you really need to know.

The first sentence starts with, "Please be advised that, in accordance with our revised communication protocol..." and by the second paragraph you're already wondering whether you've accidentally opened the wrong email. You keep scrolling because surely the important part is coming. There's a table. Three attachments. Half the company has been copied in. Somewhere near the bottom, after what feels like a small novel, you finally discover that all you actually needed to know was that Friday's meeting has moved from 2pm to 3pm.

The person who wrote that email probably had the best intentions. They wanted to make sure everyone had all the information. But somewhere between trying to be thorough and trying to sound professional, the actual message got lost. We've all done it. Sometimes we write the way we think professional people are supposed to write. We use bigger words than we would ever use in a normal conversation. We add extra sentences because they sound important. We explain things three different ways because we're worried someone might misunderstand us.

Ironically, that's often when people stop reading. Communication isn't measured by how many words we write. It's measured by what people understand once they've finished reading. Think about the emails you've appreciated receiving over the years. They probably weren't the longest ones. They were the ones that respected your time. They told you what had changed, why it mattered and what you needed to do next. They left you feeling informed, not exhausted.

Somewhere along the way, many workplaces started confusing complexity with professionalism. Phrases like "kindly revert," "as per our previous correspondence" and "please be advised" found their way into everyday communication. They're not necessarily wrong, but they often create distance where there doesn't need to be any.

Imagine if we wrote emails the same way we spoke to a colleague over coffee."Morning, everyone. Just a quick update. Friday's meeting has moved to 3pm because our client is travelling. Everything else stays the same. If that creates a problem, let me know." Same message. Less effort. Greater understanding. That's what good communication does. It makes things easier for the person on the receiving end. Every unnecessary sentence asks your reader to do a little more work.

Most people are juggling meetings, deadlines, phone calls and dozens of unread emails before lunch. The clearer your message is, the easier it becomes for someone to understand it, remember it and actually act on it.

Perhaps that's the question we should be asking before we hit Send... not, "Does this sound professional?" But rather..."If I were reading this for the first time, would I immediately know what I need to know?"

Professional communication has never been about sounding important. It's about making understanding effortless, and maybe that's the real purpose of every email we send. Not to prove how much we know......but to help someone else know exactly what they need to.