IT Experts, Ensure Your Message is Clear, Concise, Impactful

Email for IT professionals

Full Name

A colleague asks you for help, but you’re too busy. How do you respond?

A. Ignore the email until you have time.

B. Reply with "I’m too busy. Ask someone else."

C. Reply with "I’d love to help, but I’m currently swamped. Maybe [suggest another person] can assist?"

D. Say "I'll get to it soon," even if you know you won’t.

You need a client to provide urgent feedback. What subject line do you use?

A. "Hey, can you check this?"

B. "URGENT: Need Your Feedback Today"

C. "Quick Review Needed: [Project Name]"

D. "Re: Our Last Discussion"

A teammate sent you an email with incorrect information. How do you correct them?

A. Reply-all and point out the mistake immediately.

B. Ignore the mistake since it’s not your problem.

C. Politely reply to the sender and mention the correction, offering supporting details.

D. Send a long email explaining why they were wrong.

How do you start an email to a colleague or client?

A. "Did you see my last email?"

B. "Just following up on my previous email—please let me know if you need any clarification."

C. "Why haven’t you replied yet?"

D. "Re-sending my previous email. Let me know when you can review it."

A client misunderstood your email and is upset. What do you do?

A. Defend yourself and explain that they misread the email.

B. Apologize for the confusion and offer to clarify or discuss the issue over a quick call.

C. Ignore their response and hope it blows over.

D. Forward their email to your manager and ask them to handle it.

You need to ask your boss for approval on a budget request. What’s the best approach?

A. "Hey, can I get approval for this?"

B. "I need approval for the budget. Please approve it."

C. "Hi [Boss’s Name], I’ve attached the budget request for your review. Please let me know if you have any questions or need adjustments."

D. "Here’s the budget. Let me know."

A junior team member asks for guidance, but you’re short on time. What do you do?

A. Ignore the email since you're too busy

B. Give a brief, one-sentence answer without much context

C. Reply with, "I’m a bit tied up, but here’s a quick answer: [brief guidance]. Let me know if you need more details!"

D. Tell them to Google it.

A client asks for something that’s not possible. How do you respond?

A. "No, we can’t do that."

B. "This isn't possible, but here’s an alternative solution that might work."

C. Ignore the email because there's no good response.

D. Tell them to check the documentation and figure it out themselves.

You need to schedule a meeting with multiple people across different time zones. What do you write?

A."Let’s meet tomorrow at 3 PM."

B. "Can everyone meet at 3 PM? If not, let me know your availability."

C. "I’ve suggested a meeting time of 3 PM, but please let me know if another time works better for you."

D. "Just let me know when you all are free."

How Professional Are Your Emails? Take This IT Communication Quiz

IT Professionals: Are Your Emails Helping or Hurting Your Career?