How to Format Workplace Emails People Actually Read

Bold the ask, list the items, label the sections. Same words, completely different outcome.

Dana spent thirty minutes writing a project update. Clear language, accurate details, solid reasoning. She covered the timeline change, the budget impact, the three decisions the team needed to make, and the context behind each one. She sent it to twelve people.

Two replied. One asked a question she had already answered in paragraph four. The other forwarded it to their manager with the note: "TL;DR?"

Dana's writing was fine. Her formatting made the entire message invisible.

The next week, she sent the same information with bold deadlines, a numbered decision list, and section headers. Eleven out of twelve replied within the hour. Same words. Different structure. Completely different outcome.

Why Scanability Is the Fastest Way to Improve Employee Engagement

Nielsen Norman Group's eye-tracking research found that users scan content in an F-shaped pattern: they read the first line, skim the left edge of what follows, and abandon the rest. Making content scannable improved measured usability by 47%. Combined with concise writing, that number hit 124%.

Most internal communications ignore this entirely. They arrive as undifferentiated paragraphs where every sentence carries the same visual weight:

• The deadline sits in the same font as the background context
• The action item blends into the rationale
• The decision needed hides in paragraph four

Recipients have three seconds of attention and zero visual cues telling them where to spend it. The result: low read rates, missed deadlines, and the dreaded "can you resend that?"

The Fix: 8 Formatting Rules That Make Messages Impossible to Miss

The fix requires no rewriting. Take any email you have already drafted, apply these eight rules, and double the chance it gets read and acted on.

1. Bold the one thing they must see

The deadline, the ask, or the decision. One bolded phrase per section maximum. When you bold everything, you bold nothing — the visual contrast that makes bold work disappears when the entire paragraph is heavy.

2. Use italics for context they can skip

Background information, caveats, and "nice to know" details belong in italics. This signals "read this if you have time" without cluttering the primary message. Readers who need the context will read it. Readers who already have it will jump to the next bold phrase.

3. Reserve underline for links only

Online readers have spent two decades learning that underlined text is clickable. Using underline for emphasis trains recipients to click on text that goes nowhere. It creates a micro-frustration that erodes trust in your formatting — and trust in your communications overall.

4. Add headings when your message scrolls

If the message extends past one screen, it needs section headers. Mobile recipients see three to four lines at a time. Headers let them jump to the section that matters and skip the sections that don't.

An email with headers is a document. An email without them is a stream of consciousness.

5. Lists for parallel items — bullets or numbers

Three or more items of the same type should become a list:

• Numbered when order matters (steps, ranked priorities, sequential dependencies)
• Bulleted when it does not (options, attendees, features)

Prose that hides a list inside a paragraph forces readers to extract the structure themselves. Most will not bother.

6. One idea per paragraph, three sentences maximum

Each paragraph earns its whitespace by containing exactly one point. If you need a fourth sentence, start a new paragraph. Short paragraphs create natural scanning points. Long paragraphs create walls.

7. Front-load the ask

The first line of the email should contain the action or decision needed. Everything after it is supporting context.

Most people write emails like essays: background → reasoning → the point. Flip it. Conclusion first, evidence second, background last. The people who need the context will keep reading. The people who just need the action item will have it in two seconds.

8. Whitespace is formatting

A blank line between sections costs nothing and changes how the entire message feels. Dense blocks of text signal "this will take effort to parse" before a single word is read. Whitespace tells the reader: this is organized, and you can move through it quickly.

Before and After: Same Words, 10x the Engagement

❌ Before (wall of text)

Hi team, I wanted to give a quick update on the Henderson project. We've hit a delay on the vendor integration due to an API change on their end, which means the original March 15 deadline is no longer realistic. After reviewing the scope with engineering, we think March 29 is achievable if we can get sign-off on the revised SOW by this Friday. The budget impact is minimal, roughly $4,200 in additional QA hours, which fits within our contingency. I need three things from this group: (1) confirmation that the March 29 date works for the client presentation, (2) approval on the $4,200 overage, and (3) someone to own the client communication about the timeline shift. Let me know your thoughts when you get a chance.

✅ After (scannable, clear, impossible to miss)

Hi team,

Quick update on the Henderson project.

The March 15 deadline is moving to March 29 due to an API change on the vendor integration side. Engineering reviewed the scope and confirmed March 29 is achievable if we get sign-off on the revised SOW by this Friday.

Budget impact: ~$4,200 in additional QA hours, within our existing contingency.

I need three decisions from this group:

1. Does March 29 work for the client presentation?
2. Is the $4,200 overage approved?
3. Who owns the client communication about the timeline shift?

Please reply by EOD Thursday.

Same information. Same word count. The formatted version gets replies because readers can find the deadline in one second, skip the budget context if they already trust the number, and see exactly what they need to decide.

Why This Matters for Internal Communications

Every unread message is a missed opportunity. Every buried action item is a delayed decision. Formatting is the difference between employee communications that drive action and employee communications that get archived unread.

The math is simple:

Formatting is free, and it is the fastest way to double the effectiveness of every message you send.

Organizations that master scanable, perfectly clear internal communications see measurably better engagement. The ones that send walls of text keep wondering why nobody reads past the second line.

Try It: Free Email Scanability Formatter Prompt

Paste your draft into any LLM, then paste this prompt after it. The model will apply three formatting moves — bold your core sentences, capitalize section transitions into headings, and extract inline parallel items into lists — using only the words already in your draft.

mode: post_generation_reprompt
task: "Use the immediately preceding draft in this thread as input. Apply strategic formatting to improve scanability. Use only the words already present. Return the full formatted draft."
goal: "A reader scanning the formatted version should find the core message in bold, the structure in headings, and parallel data in lists, all using the original words."
stance: "Three formatting tools: bold, headings, and lists. Apply only where the content already supports it. Never fabricate structure that the words do not contain."
output_rules[4]:
  - return only the formatted draft
  - no preface no framing and no wrap-up
  - no explanations or notes about what was changed
  - preserve all original words exactly
non_negotiables[5]:
  - never add words that do not appear in the original
  - never remove words that appear in the original
  - never rephrase reword or change the order of sentences
  - never change tone or meaning
  - every word in the output must trace back to the input
formatting_tools[3]{id,name,when,how}:
  1,bold_core_sentences,the sentence carries the core ask conclusion or demand of the message,wrap the complete sentence in bold markers. 1-3 sentences max across the entire draft. a reader who reads only the bold text should get the full point.
  2,capitalize_section_transitions,a sentence or phrase introduces a new topic or section of the message and reads like a natural heading,move it to its own line and capitalize it. only when the draft already has clear topic shifts. do not invent sections that are not there.
  3,extract_inline_lists,three or more parallel items are joined by commas or conjunctions inside a single sentence,break them into a bulleted list if order does not matter or a numbered list if it does. use the exact original words for each item. keep the lead-in sentence intact above the list.
process[3]:
  - read the full draft and identify the 1-3 sentences that would survive a TLDR. bold those.
  - scan for topic transitions that already function as section breaks. capitalize those into headings.
  - scan for sentences containing three or more parallel items joined inline. extract those into lists.
quality_gate[5]:
  - bold is applied to at most 3 complete sentences
  - headings are created only from words already in the draft
  - list items use exact original phrasing with no rewording
  - the formatted output contains every word from the input and no new words
  - if the draft has no clear ask no topic shifts and no inline lists return it unchanged
few_shot_examples[3]{id,in,out}:
  s1,"I wanted to give a quick update on the Henderson project. We've hit a delay on the vendor integration due to an API change on their end, which means the original March 15 deadline is no longer realistic. After reviewing the scope with engineering, we think March 29 is achievable if we can get sign-off on the revised SOW by this Friday. The budget impact is minimal, roughly $4,200 in additional QA hours, which fits within our contingency. I need three things from this group: confirmation that the March 29 date works for the client presentation, approval on the $4,200 overage, and someone to own the client communication about the timeline shift.","I wanted to give a quick update on the Henderson project. We've hit a delay on the vendor integration due to an API change on their end, which means the original March 15 deadline is no longer realistic. **After reviewing the scope with engineering, we think March 29 is achievable if we can get sign-off on the revised SOW by this Friday.** The budget impact is minimal, roughly $4,200 in additional QA hours, which fits within our contingency. **I need three things from this group:**\n\n1. Confirmation that the March 29 date works for the client presentation\n2. Approval on the $4,200 overage\n3. Someone to own the client communication about the timeline shift"
  s2,"The team had a productive sprint last week. We shipped the notifications overhaul and closed 14 tickets. The backlog is down to 23 items. No blockers at the moment.","The team had a productive sprint last week. We shipped the notifications overhaul and closed 14 tickets. The backlog is down to 23 items. No blockers at the moment."
  s3,"GameStop needs to evolve into a technology company that delights gamers and delivers exceptional digital experiences. It is important to reiterate that we have devoted a significant amount of time to analyzing GameStop's assets, balance sheet, corporate governance, opportunity set and positioning within the sector. Our investment thesis was predicated upon a few core conclusions, including: The gaming industry is experiencing explosive growth, with the global gaming market expected to be $174.9 billion this year. GameStop has valuable assets, including a strong brand with a large customer base and 55 million PowerUp members. Despite GameStop losing substantial market share to forward-looking competitors, the Company can still emerge as the market leader if the Board can set a credible strategy for capturing growth opportunities.","**GameStop needs to evolve into a technology company that delights gamers and delivers exceptional digital experiences.** It is important to reiterate that we have devoted a significant amount of time to analyzing GameStop's assets, balance sheet, corporate governance, opportunity set and positioning within the sector. Our investment thesis was predicated upon a few core conclusions, including:\n\n1. The gaming industry is experiencing explosive growth, with the global gaming market expected to be $174.9 billion this year.\n2. GameStop has valuable assets, including a strong brand with a large customer base and 55 million PowerUp members.\n3. Despite GameStop losing substantial market share to forward-looking competitors, the Company can still emerge as the market leader if the Board can set a credible strategy for capturing growth opportunities."
input_source: prior_thread_message

Your Message Was Fine. Your Formatting Made It Invisible.

That is why we are building Rally — AI-powered internal communications engineered to be perfectly clear and impossible to miss. Rally's AI agents optimize every message for scanability, deliver across every channel, and give you the analytics to know exactly who read what.

Employee engagement starts with employee communications that actually get read.

Now that you know how to format for scanability, fix what your AI writes: You Smell Like Bad AI. Then fix who you write for: How to Talk to Anyone.

Sources

• Nielsen Norman Group, "Concise, SCANNABLE, and Objective: How to Write for the Web." Scannable formatting improved usability 47%; combined with concise writing, 124%.
• Nielsen Norman Group, "F-Shaped Pattern For Reading Web Content." Eye-tracking research on how users scan content.
• Nielsen Norman Group, "5 Formatting Techniques for Long-Form Content." Users fixate on bolded text, headings, and bullet points when scanning.
• New Zealand Government, "Use bold, italics, and underlining sparingly and consistently." Blocks of formatted text are less readable because visual contrast disappears.