When replying to questions in an email, replying inline makes your communication clearer and more legible.
Inline replies are responses in the original email body right after the question instead of answers at the top in a new email. Alternatively, you can also copy and paste the sender’s asks in a new email and then respond to the requests one by one.
Use a different color or bold your inline reply
When responding, make sure other respondents can quickly identify your responses and tell them apart from other responses. Use a different color, bold your answer, or otherwise state that you added the inline response. Also, respond immediately after the question or after the last reply.
Lastly, if the questions aren’t visually separated, separate them yourself in a new email and then respond inline after each question.
Inline replies result in clearer and more concise conversations
There are a few benefits of inline responses.
First, inline replies ensure that you respond to all questions. For instance, if someone asks a few questions in an email chain and someone else asks additional questions, you need to scroll through a couple of emails and answer them separately.
If everybody replies in the original email’s body, all the questions and responses will be consolidated in one section, leading to shorter email chains and better organization
Inline replies enable quick identification of who said what
Second, with inline responses, it is easier to decipher who said what and when. If each respondent uses a different color and answers below the last response, it is clear who said what.
The approach is similar to replies on a social media post. The comments are ordered chronologically, and each answer can be attributed to one person.