My boss in Toledo told me my project updates were too long and people just tuned out.

3 comments

3 Comments

See, that's the thing. A long update isn't the same as a clear one. You can give the full context without writing a book. Just hit the key points: project is green, vendor is two weeks behind, budget is still good. That's three lines. People will read three lines. They tune out at three paragraphs. Your boss is right.

shane_martinez442d ago

My old manager in Cincinnati made me switch to a three bullet format. First line is overall status, second is the single biggest blocker, third is the next step. It cut my update length by like 80% and I actually got more replies because people could scan it in five seconds. The key detail you need is what's stopping progress right now.

joseph_hunt3d ago

Honestly, I disagree. A clear update saves time in the long run. If you just say "it's going fine," then ten people will ask ten different follow-up questions in emails. Giving the full context, like the new vendor delay or the budget change, means everyone has the same info at once. I'd rather send one slightly longer message than get stuck answering the same thing over and over.