Hi {{ Name | there }},
A VP once told me, “I spend half my day reading emails, and most of them are a waste of time.”
She wasn’t being harsh. She was being honest.
When I became a people manager, I realized that most people write to inform, but top performers write to influence.
And that difference matters more than you think.
Because the people who rise fastest aren’t always the ones doing the most.
They’re the ones whose updates are impossible to ignore, whose recommendations are taken seriously, and whose words make them sound like the natural choice for bigger opportunities.
Think about it: your manager isn’t in every meeting you lead.
Senior leaders don’t see every deliverable you produce.
Clients can’t follow every detail of your process.
What they do see are the words you put in front of them: the updates, the emails, the proposals. Those words become their shortcut to deciding whether you’re sharp, strategic, and worth paying attention to.
Translation: your writing is your presence when you’re not in the room.
We recently held a Write to Influence workshop for Career Mama members, and I wanted to share a few ideas you can start using right away.
Before I dive in, I want to set the stage with a simple reminder: your writing isn’t just about getting information across. It’s about shaping perception. Every email, every update, every proposal is a chance to signal that you’re strategic, confident, and worth paying attention to.
#1 Start with the “headline version” of your message.
Imagine your email is going to be screenshotted into a Slack thread where you won’t be there to defend it. Would your first two lines stand on their own?
Instead of: “Here’s some background before I share my recommendation…”
Try: “I recommend we run a two-week pilot with Team X. This balances speed with risk.”
#2 Design for the “executive skim.”
Senior leaders rarely read word-for-word — they scan for structure. Write for how their eyes move, not how you like to write.
Use bold to highlight the decision point.
Limit to 3–5 bullets max.
Add a one-line summary at the end: “Bottom line: this option saves us 6 weeks.”
Bonus hack: Keep emails short enough to fit on a phone screen, so leaders see the key message and action instantly, without scrolling or missing the point.
#3 Answer the “invisible objection.”
Top performers don’t wait for pushback, they head it off in writing. Before you hit send, ask yourself: “What would make someone say no to this?” and address it upfront.
“Yes, this adds $10K, but it prevents $50K in churn.”
“Yes, it takes two extra weeks, but it avoids a full rework later.”
#4 Make your impact travel (so stakeholders don’t miss it)
Don’t just write to inform, sprinkle some of your impact in the message. Otherwise, it’s just another update sitting in their inbox. Every message is a chance to remind them of your strategic value.
So suppose you’re sending an update about a pilot project:
Instead of: “The two-week pilot with Team X is complete.”
Try: “The two-week pilot with Team X is complete. It cut average response time by 18% - the biggest gain we’ve seen in a single sprint.”
Now your message does four things at once: it leads with the headline, is skimmable, heads off the “so what?” objection, and makes your impact impossible to miss.
Before you send your next important email, run it through this checklist (save this wherever you can easily access):
☑️ Headline first: Did I put my main point in the first two lines?
☑️ Skimmable format: Can someone get the gist in 30 seconds (bolding, bullets, clear structure)?
☑️ Invisible objection: Have I addressed the most likely “no” upfront?
☑️ Impact signal: Does my message show why this work mattered (not just what I did)?
Your words are more powerful than you think.
They can make you invisible, or they can make you impossible to ignore.
So the next time you sit down to write, remember: this isn’t just an email, it’s your presence when you’re not in the room. Use it well.
Cheers,
Shivani
P.S. I share more strategies on this live in my upcoming workshop. Registration is open and is filling fast for our workshop for high-performing moms who want to be recognized by leadership, get promoted (with fewer hours), and stop feeling like they’re failing at both work and home.
📣 The 3-Step System High-Performing Moms Use to Excel at Work & Be Present with Kids
Sept 23 at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET
Sept 24 at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET
I’ve coached thousands of women from companies like Apple, Uber, Google, and Salesforce to grow their careers without losing themselves in the process.
This isn’t fluff. It’s a framework. I hope to see you inside.
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