Boss told me my emails were too 'salesy' - fixed it with one trick

Got a talking to last month. My manager said my emails sounded like I was pushing a timeshare. Cut out all the exclamation points and words like 'amazing' and 'game changer'. Started writing like I talk to my buddy at lunch. Response rate went up 30% in two weeks. Anyone else get told their work voice sounds fake?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_jason3d ago

Totally feel you on that. It's wild how trying to sound professional just makes you sound like a robot. I had the same thing happen and dropping all that fake energy honestly made the whole job way less stressful too.

abby_carr574d ago

Oh man, I had almost the exact same thing happen. I used to write these super polished emails with "I hope this finds you well" and all that fluff, and my boss finally pulled me aside and said it sounded like I was reading from a script. Honestly, just ditching the formal intro and going with a simple "Hey, hope you're having a good week" felt weird at first but people actually started responding like I was a real person. I also stopped trying to close with a big call to action in every message and just said "let me know what you think" or "curious if this makes sense" - it took the pressure off and suddenly people were way more willing to chat back.