Day: October 3, 2025

• Myra Deshmukh worked at Amazon for over a decade and taught a business writing course to other employees.
• She shares seven tips for improving email communication, including being concise and avoiding emojis.
• She says that good communication, including effective email skills, can enhance career progression.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Myra Deshmukh, the 39-year-old founder of Leadership Lab and a former Amazon employee living in Montclair, New Jersey. It has been edited for length and clarity.

In the 10 ½ years I worked at Amazon, I held many different titles. My last role was senior manager of learning and development programs, and one of my tasks was to teach a business writing course to thousands of Amazon employees.

Overall, Amazon has a very heavy writing culture, so we write a lot of documents, emails, memos, press releases, and FAQs.

The course I taught was a six-week foundations course in business writing 101, and covered how to write concisely, tell compelling stories, and structure writing — from Slack chats and emails to a six-pager.

Email is one of the primary ways we communicate today, and how you show up in an email can make a real difference in how others perceive you.

Here are seven things you can try in order to improve your email communication.

1. Choose a specific and helpful subject line

The subject line is incredibly important; it lets the reader know the purpose of your email, and is the first impression they get of you.

When writing one, make it as specific and helpful as possible.

If it’s just for their information, include “FYI” in the subject. If action is required, add the deadline or the task itself so the recipient immediately understands the urgency and intention of your message.

For example, a good subject line is: Marketing Proposal – Feedback Needed by 8/13. A bad example is: Marketing Proposal Draft.

2. Make a good impression with your greeting

Second to the subject line, a greeting is one of the first impressions somebody will have of you. You don’t want it to be the reason that someone has a negative perception of you.

If you want to come off as professional or neutral, use “hi” or “hello.” It’s the most neutral greeting and is the least likely to be misunderstood by your recipient.

I avoid using “Dear ___,” in work situations, as it’s a very personal greeting, like something I’d use when writing to a close relative. I also wouldn’t use “hey,” as it’s very casual and can come across as too informal to different generations or cultures.

Not using a greeting and just writing their name could be perceived as too curt.

After the initial correspondence, it can be appropriate to drop the greeting when responding to an email.

But tailor to your audience; if it’s with my manager, I may drop the greeting to answer their questions directly, but if it’s with my skip level or higher, I may keep the greeting for some formality and respect.

3. Be concise and know your objective

Before writing an email, you should know the purpose of what you’re writing; your email should be concise and specific. You should have one objective, not a million.

This might look like: “Hi name, I hope you’re well today. Can you give me feedback on this proposal by the end of the day tomorrow?” From there, you can provide context.

By writing it this way, you’re not leaving people to read through and figure out the point of the email.

The bulk of your email should fit into your iPhone screen, and the general gist of your email should just be one scroll. This is especially true if you’re writing for an ask, for feedback, or something that you need somebody to reply to.

4. Don’t use filler words or phrases

We use filler words or phrases to soften the ask, or to make an email more personal, but it really just comes across as less confident.

These might read, “I’m writing you because I’m hoping…” or, “I’m wondering if you can…”

Instead, try: “Can you send me feedback on this marketing proposal by the end of the day, [insert date],” and then add some context. This way, it becomes more of an action or direct ask, versus a passive statement.

If it’s not an ask, but rather, you’re telling someone information, you could say, “The marketing campaign that we ran last week was very successful; it exceeded our revenue goal.”

Some people use filler words to be kind, but you can balance being kind with being concise. You can include a short intro, like, “Hope you had a great weekend,” but don’t make it so long that it distracts from the purpose of your email.

Most people are busy and want you to get to the point of what you’re asking.

5. Avoid using emojis

When it comes to emailing someone, I’d suggest staying away from emojis for the same reason you avoid language that’s too casual — it can be misinterpreted.

For example, you might send a winky face with a completely platonic intention, but the person reading it could think, “Why are they winking at me? That’s creepy.”

You just never know with emojis, so I’d recommend staying away from them. It’s very hard to read tone over email, harmless emojis included.

6. Using exclamation points is fine — but don’t overdo it

I think punctuation like exclamation points is fine in an email if you’re trying to convey excitement or enthusiasm. That said, don’t overuse them. Use one.

For example, “We’re so excited about tomorrow’s launch!” is totally appropriate, but “We’re so excited about tomorrow’s launch!!!” isn’t necessary.

Use your judgment on how many you need for the whole email. As with any special formatting, use it intentionally. If every sentence in your email has an exclamation, it loses emphasis.

It’s the same with bolding; if everything is bolded, nothing stands out.

7. Don’t be afraid to follow up

After sending your original email, it’s appropriate to follow up after the date you asked them for feedback by.

You could say, “Hey, just following up on this, I would love your feedback.”

If you weren’t clear about when you needed an answer, you might write: “Hi. I just realized I didn’t send you a deadline. I would love the feedback by tomorrow, if you can.”

People fear being annoying, but if you think about all the emails you get, of course, a few might slip by that you forget to reply to. Putting yourself in the other person’s shoes, you realize a reminder isn’t annoying — it can be really helpful.

Communication is an essential skill for progressing your career

When writing an email, you should always write it as if it’s going to be forwarded to that person’s boss. Even if you’re friends, you don’t want to come off too casual or inappropriate.

Good communication helps you be seen as a great leader at work and makes you more likely to get promoted.

If you have to invest in one skill to enhance your career, invest in clear, effective communication — and that includes email.

Do you have a story to share about unique strategies you used to get promoted? Contact this editor, Jane Zhang, at janezhang@businessinsider.com.

• Andrew Chen used TikTok to document his interview preparation for an Amazon software engineering role.
• He said posting on TikTok kept him motivated as he prepared for Amazon’s “loop” interviews.
• Chen shared what Amazon’s interviews were like, how he landed the role, and his advice for job seekers.

In May, Andrew Chen couldn’t stop thinking about the ticking clock. He was just weeks away from earning his computer science degree from the University of California San Diego — and still didn’t have a job lined up.

Then a glimmer of hope landed in his inbox: an email from Amazon inviting him to interview for a software engineering role in 10 days. He knew he couldn’t waste the opportunity, so he made a plan: hole up in his room to study — and document his preparation for the big day on TikTok to hold himself accountable.

“I canceled all my social obligations, locked myself in my room, and basically only left the house to have lunch,” said the 22-year-old. “I was thinking, if I don’t get this job, this is all for nothing.”

Chen is among the many recent college graduates who have struggled to find work. As of June, the most recent data available, 4.8% of Americans ages 22 to 27 with at least a bachelor’s degree were unemployed — higher than the 4.0% jobless rate among the broader working-age population, a reversal from the typical trend in recent decades.

These challenges reflect a broader hiring slowdown that’s hit entry-level job seekers especially hard. Amid tariff uncertainty and the early effects of AI adoption, US companies are hiring at one of the slowest paces since 2014. Tech professionals, including computer science graduates like Chen, have been particularly affected, with layoffs at firms including Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. On Indeed, US software development job postings have declined by over 70% from their peak in 2022.

While some new graduates are still searching, others, like Chen, have used creative job-search and interview preparation strategies to secure offers.

Almost giving up on software engineering

Chen began looking for a full-time job in the summer of 2024. As a computer science major, he’d always envisioned starting his career in software engineering. But after applying to more than 400 jobs and struggling to gain traction, he expanded his search to include product management and design roles.

But he didn’t give up on software engineering. Between September 2024 and early February 2025, Chen applied to several software engineering roles at Amazon.

In mid-February, he was asked to complete an online assessment for one of the roles he had applied to — he’s still unsure exactly which one — that included a coding test and behavioral questions. He thought he had done well — news he excitedly shared with his parents — but as the months passed, he never received an update about his application status.

“My parents would keep asking for updates on Amazon because it’s a name brand,” he said. “And I eventually told them I got rejected — I thought if I hadn’t heard from them after months, it’s probably not going to happen.”

By the time Amazon reached out in May, Chen said he was deep in interviews for product management and design roles — and had nearly given up on software engineering entirely.

The unexpected opportunity to return to his preferred field was welcome, but its timing posed a challenge. After focusing on other types of roles, he’d largely stopped practicing his coding skills and would need to quickly brush up before the interview.

Posting on TikTok to hold himself accountable

Chen had just 10 days to prepare — and still had to carve out time for interviews with other companies, in addition to school exams and final projects. So he developed a plan of attack, dividing his days into blocks for coding practice on LeetCode, behavioral prep, and studying for other interviews.

He set out to read everything he could on platforms like Reddit and Blind about Amazon’s interview process and past candidates’ experiences, practice common technical questions, study the company’s leadership principles, and memorize STAR-format personal stories that illustrated how he embodied those values.

“This was the first big company that had given me a chance in a while,” he said, “so I really wanted to get this one.”

But pulling this all off seemed daunting, and Chen felt he needed something to help him stay motivated. Then he had an idea. He’d been interested in creating social media content for a while but had only posted a handful of TikToks. What if he started documenting his preparation for the Amazon interview? Sharing updates publicly on TikTok, he figured, would add the kind of pressure he needed to stay locked in — and maybe even attract advice from others who’d been through the process.

On May 19, Chen posted a TikTok with the caption “10 days until FAANG final interview,” sharing how much prep he’d done, how many classes he’d skipped, how much caffeine he’d consumed, and how many showers he’d taken. He followed it with similar updates in the days that followed.

Chen said his videos — which received as many as 2.6 million views — drew a wide range of reactions, including skepticism that he could land the role given his limited preparation time.

“The videos brought a lot of doubt from viewers, but thankfully also a lot of advice and encouragement,” he said.

Preparing for behavioral questions proved to be essential

When interview day arrived in late May, Chen was anxious and sleep-deprived. He said his Amazon “loop” interview process consisted of three back-to-back virtual interviews with short breaks in between. The first round focused on technical questions, the second on behavioral scenarios tied to Amazon’s leadership principles, and the third included a mix of both.

“I was thinking that these few hours will determine if I am employed,” he said.

Chen gradually settled in as the day went on and left the interviews feeling like he’d done his best. On June 3, shortly after finishing his third interview of the day for non-Amazon roles, he saw an email notification on his phone. He’d received an offer from Amazon with a six-figure salary.

On June 5, Chen posted a TikTok with the news that received over 941,000 views. He graduated in mid-June and, after moving to New York City, started working full-time in July.

Chen said his biggest takeaway from the Amazon interviews was the company’s emphasis on behavioral questions tied to its leadership principles — something he felt played to his strengths.

“They care a lot about your success stories outside your technical expertise,” he said. “I think I’m a better talker than a coder, so I was very excited for that.”

One of his top pieces of advice for job seekers: while application quality matters, volume is essential in a tough market.

“Many times I did feel hopeless, but I think it truly is a numbers game,” he said. “You just need to apply to everything you’re qualified for.”

• Sora 2 is a breakthrough. It makes AI fun — and the key is the ability to see ourselves and friends.
• This feels like the future of AI we were promised.
• With that comes a terrifying side: How are people going to use your images?

The AI future we’ve been promised is finally here — and it’s both wonderful and terrifying.

OpenAI’s new Sora 2 video app is fun. It’s delightful and silly and goofy and creative. I have genuinely loved making funny videos that use images of me and my friends.

But read that last sentence again. The flip side of all this wonder is also the terrifying part. This is the first time I’ve felt AI get close to mimicking real life. In other words, you might have a hard time telling what’s real and what’s fake when you watch these Sora-made videos.

Fakes — especially if they’re made with the intent to mislead or harm — could be a big issue. Sora feels like a step into a new world where we haven’t quite figured out the rules.

(If you haven’t used it yet, a primer: Sora 2 lets you upload your picture and then lets you prompt it to make videos using your image. You can also choose to let your likeness be used by your friends — or just anyone in the world. That’s where a lot of the Sam Altman-robs-a-store videos came from, for instance.)

AI that finally blows my mind

In the last few years, I’ve used generative AI apps, like ChatGPT, in lots of ways — most of which aren’t particularly exciting or interesting. Things like basic searches or work productivity stuff. AI feels like a useful tool, but nothing has truly blown my mind. Until Sora 2.

After playing around with Sora 2 for the last few days, I see how it’s a breakthrough: It’s something I actually enjoyed using.

Sora — though it might not create the greatest AI video ever, and isn’t the first social AI video feed (Meta has one called Vibes) — unlocked something.

Vibes was a dud. Without the ability to tell the app to “Make a video of me getting arrested,” it’s boring to just watch random screensaver slop. The key to Sora — and what it’s unlocked more broadly — is the ability to see ourselves.

Sora 2 also brings worries

It’s also, very obviously, concerning. You don’t have to be an AI pessimist to see the very clear potential harms in a tool that allows you to make super-realistic videos of other people’s likenesses with just a few taps.

I’ve seen countless deepfake or AI videos of celebrities and politicians over the years, but as a non-famous person, I’ve never seen a super high-quality AI video of myself — until now.

Just off the top of my head, there are all kinds of things to worry about with this new ability to create realistic-looking (ish) videos with real people: scams, personal humiliation, extortion, and misinformation. And I’m sure there are more worries we haven’t even discovered because this is so new.

Jake Paul endorses this … or does he?

I’ll leave you with one last thought after a few days using Sora 2.

Celebrities — who make their living in large part through owning the exclusive rights to their faces and voices — are so far not on Sora in any large number that I’ve seen. (An exception is Altman, who let it rip as soon as Sora went live.)

There’s a notable exception, though: Jake Paul.

The social media star and boxer has a long history of early success on new platforms and certainly has an, um, playful approach to monetizing his personal brand.

I’m glad he’s on Sora 2, especially since he’s such a big fan of Business Insider!

Note: Jake Paul definitely did not really say that. See my point?

Welcome to the new world!