My teenager stared at the blank email screen for 20 minutes. Then closed the laptop and declared, “I’ll just fail the class.”
All because she needed to email her teacher about a missed assignment.
A couple years ago, I was faced with a conundrum. My teens didn’t know how to write emails. They looked at me like I had two heads when I asked them to send an email. Sending an email to them was (almost) worse than public speaking.
Here’s the thing – it’s not their fault. My kids can text at the speed of light. They can craft the perfect Instagram caption. They know exactly how many emojis convey the right tone in a Discord message. But email? That’s like asking them to use a rotary phone.
They’ve grown up in a world of instant messages, voice notes, and DMs. Professional email feels foreign – too formal, too many unwritten rules, too much pressure. When do you use “Dear” vs “Hi”? How do you ask for something without sounding demanding? What if you come across as rude? Or worse – what if you sound like you’re trying too hard to be professional and end up sounding like a corporate robot?
Then I stumbled on a GREAT pattern that enabled them to send emails to their teachers, job opportunities, bosses, etc. I call it The Inigo Montoya Method, named after a character in The Princess Bride. If you haven’t watched the movie, watch the next 45 second clip. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Obviously, we’ve seen the movie as a family. There are LOTS of great one-liners. Why it’s a cult classic.
No more rhyming. And I mean it!
Anybody want a peanut?
But back to my epiphany:
Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.
This encompasses the three main parts of any communication:
- Greeting & Introduction (Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya.)
- Relevance/Relationship (You killed my father.)
- Ask/Goal (Prepare to die.)
If you think about it, these three things are exactly what every professional communication is all about:
- Hello, my name is [insert name here].
- I know you because [of this relationship].
- [Insert ask/goal/request here.]
Examples:
Hi, this is Joy Holzmann.
I’m in your 2nd period English Class
I need some extra time to finish my take-home test because I was sick last week. Could we push the due date for me to next Monday?
Or
Hey, this is Nathaniel Holzmann
We met last week at the business networking event. I was super intrigued by what you said about sales & marketing.
Are you interested in grabbing some coffee and talking more about it?
Using The Inigo Montoya Method made it super easy for my teens to understand the pattern and how to easily craft emails. Now, they feel like emails are only 1/2 as threatening as before! 😂