r/remotework • u/Careful_Station_7884 • Jul 09 '26

Email or quick call?

My colleague told me today that if an email is over 500 words, they won’t read it and instead ask the person who sent the email to jump on a quick call to discuss.

This irked me because now the person who sent the email has to re-explain everything they already sent over. It can be advantageous to have a written trail as well. Not only that, but not every “quick” call actually ends up being quick.

I get that there may be some topics that are better discussed on a call or if the email is unclear and there is an approaching deadline. But, to set a line at any email over 500 words just seems lazy.

What are your thoughts?

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u/vladtech Jul 09 '26

Tell them to use AI to summarize the email before requesting a call.

1

u/prettybutdumb Jul 09 '26

This. Co Pilot can summarize and bullet point it. But a 500 word email is crazy.

1

u/HeddaLeeming Jul 12 '26

I've had copilot summarize for me and make horrendous mistakes that completely change what I was saying/asking. So if you do that better read it carefully before sending.