eMail Table of Contents · mail etiquette
When an important email looks long, busy people may postpone it—or never read it. Put a useful table of contents at the top so they can see what matters before they decide how deeply to read—and find it again later.
Hi Jordan,
Here’s what you’ll find below:
Please confirm whether you want us to reserve the October launch date.
The start of item two is already visible ↓The method
A useful eToC reduces uncertainty. It lets the recipient locate the decision, question, background, or action without digging through a wall of text. Easy to scan now. Easy to find later.
If the whole message cannot be seen in a typical preview, consider adding a table of contents.
“Decision needed today” is more useful than “Overview.” Specific headings help readers choose where to focus.
Let the reader see the beginning of section two. That visible progress makes a structured email feel manageable.
Call out decisions, questions, deadlines, and next steps. Never make the reader hunt for the reason you wrote.
Use specific, searchable terms in the eToC, then repeat the number and full wording as a bold, easy-to-spot heading in the body. The recipient can find the email—and the right section—when that subject becomes relevant again.
The reusable pattern
Open with a short list of the sections the reader will encounter.
Repeat each number and the full eToC wording as a bold—and, when useful, underlined—heading in the body.
State exactly who needs to do what—and by when.
Short notes should stay short. eToC is for messages long or important enough that structure helps the recipient.
A smaller word for a common thing
“What’s your e-dress?”
Email address is four syllables for something we request every day. e-dress says the same thing in two. It is concise, understandable in context, and ready for conversation.