No Hellooo 🙈
Please don’t start chats with only “hi”. It’s like calling someone, yelling “HELLO”, then putting them on hold while you write your actual question.
❌ Don’t do this
10:00 you: hi
10:01 client/team: hey
(teammate stares at the blinking cursor. time keeps on slippin’)
10:03 you: can we talk about the next workshop
10:06 client: sure… which one
✅ Do this
10:00 you: hi — I’d like to plan our next executive workshop on leadership alignment; what dates work for you this week?
10:02 client: Tuesday 3-pm or Thursday 10-am both good
10:02 you: Thursday 10-am is perfect; sending invite
Why this helps
- You give context up front so people can think before replying.
- Saves everyone’s time — no back-and-forth for clarifications.
- It’s still warm and respectful while being effective.
Polite templates you can steal
- “hello, I’m preparing the team coaching session and need your input on which process bottlenecks to focus. could you send me your top three by end of day?”
- “morning — quick ask: can you review the latest GenAI strategy draft and drop comments in the doc by tomorrow?”
- “hi, I’m designing a leadership alignment workshop; what themes do you think we must cover based on your team’s current challenges?”
- “good day — I’d like to schedule our coaching check-in. Are you free this Friday afternoon or early next week?”