Michael's Rule:
Always put any call to action in the first line of an e-mail message.
Michael's Rule, stated above, is one of the more universal aphorisms that have been developed in our digital age, given that it refers specifically to electronic mail messages. But e-mail is so omnipresent in 21st century culture that there can be no question that Michael's Rule belongs in the pantheon of great aphorisms.
Of course, Michael's Rule falls into the cautionary or instructive category of aphorisms, which advise people of proper conduct, as opposed to those sayings that have gained acceptance through observation of a common condition (observation aphorisms, such as "A Fool and His Money are soon parted") or expressions that, while not universal to the human condition, are catchy enough that they have become common sayings, usually from literature and often apocryphal (quotations, such as "Give me Liberty, or give me death!"). Michael's Rule instructs us in an important lesson: if you want to get someone to do something via e-mail, you need to put that request in the first line of your message.
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