Async Communication

Writing Replaces Talking

The biggest shift in remote work isn’t where you work—it’s how you communicate. In an office, most communication is synchronous: conversations, meetings, drop-bys. Remotely, the default should flip to asynchronous.

By the end of this lesson, you’ll write async messages that are clear enough to eliminate most of your meetings.

The Async-First Principle

Async-first means: default to written, asynchronous communication. Only escalate to synchronous (meetings, calls) when async genuinely can’t work.

This isn’t anti-meeting. It’s pro-clarity. Written communication forces you to think through your message before sending it—and that clarity benefits everyone.

The Async Decision Framework

Rule of thumb: If you can write it clearly in under 5 minutes, it should be async.

Writing Clear Async Messages

The BLUF Structure

Bottom Line Up Front. Lead with your conclusion, request, or decision—then provide supporting context.

Bad (buries the point):

Hey team, I’ve been reviewing the Q3 metrics and noticed some interesting trends in our conversion rates. The funnel analysis shows a drop-off at the pricing page, which is consistent with what we saw last quarter. After discussing with Sarah from the data team, we think it might be related to the recent UI changes. Anyway, I think we should schedule a meeting to discuss this.

Good (BLUF):

Request: 30-min meeting this week to discuss the pricing page conversion drop.

Context: Q3 funnel analysis shows a 12% drop-off at the pricing page. Data team believes it’s related to the recent UI redesign. I have three proposed solutions to discuss.

Action needed: React with a thumbs up if you can attend; I’ll send a calendar invite for the most popular time.

✅ Quick Check: Rewrite this message using BLUF structure: “I was thinking about the new onboarding flow and talked to some users and they seem confused by step 3, especially the part where they need to verify their email. I wonder if we should change it.”

The Five Elements of a Complete Async Message

Every async message should include:

1. What — The topic or subject (clear subject line or header)
2. Why — Why you’re sharing this / why it matters
3. Context — Background the reader needs
4. Ask — What you need from them (be specific)
5. Deadline — When you need a response by

Missing any of these creates follow-up messages that waste everyone’s time.

Channel Strategy

Not everything belongs in the same channel. Define clear purposes:

Anti-pattern: Using DMs for decisions that affect the team. If it’s a team decision, it belongs in a team channel where everyone can see it.

Status Updates That Work

Remote teams need visibility. A good status update answers three questions:

1. What did I accomplish? (Completed work)
2. What am I working on? (Current focus)
3. What’s blocking me? (Obstacles needing help)

Format example:

🟢 Done: Finalized Q3 report, sent to stakeholders
🔵 Doing: Starting competitor analysis for Q4 planning
🔴 Blocked: Need API access from engineering (asked #eng-team)

Frequency: Daily or every other day. Keep it brief. The goal is visibility, not a novel.

Video Messages

For complex topics that are hard to write but don’t need a meeting, use recorded video messages (Loom, Vimeo Record, screen recording):

When to use video over text:

• Explaining a visual (walking through a design, dashboard, or code)
• Sharing nuanced feedback
• Onboarding or training walkthroughs
• When tone matters and text might be misread

Best practices:

• Keep under 5 minutes
• State the key point in the first 15 seconds
• Include a written summary with timestamps
• Allow playback at 1.5x-2x speed

Async Decision-Making

Decisions don’t require meetings. Use this format:

📋 DECISION NEEDED: [Topic]
📅 Deadline: [Date]

Background: [Brief context]

Options:
A) [Option with pros/cons]
B) [Option with pros/cons]
C) [Option with pros/cons]

My recommendation: [Your pick and reasoning]

Please react:
👍 = Approve recommendation
💬 = I have concerns (comment below)
🤔 = Need more context

This structure respects time zones, creates a record, and moves decisions forward without calendar dependency.

Try It Yourself

Take your most recent meeting. Rewrite it as an async communication:

1. What was the meeting about?
2. Write the BLUF version
3. Include all five elements (What, Why, Context, Ask, Deadline)
4. Could this have replaced the meeting entirely?

Using AI for Async Communication

Try this prompt:

“I need to communicate [topic] to my team asynchronously. The key decision is [decision needed]. Context is [background]. Help me write a clear async message using BLUF format that includes the topic, context, options, my recommendation, and a response mechanism.”

AI excels at structuring clear written communication—especially helpful when you’re transitioning from meeting-heavy to async-first culture.

Key Takeaways

• Default to async; escalate to sync only when necessary
• BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) is essential—lead with the point, not the context
• Every async message needs: What, Why, Context, Ask, and Deadline
• Define clear channel purposes so messages go to the right place
• Status updates answer: Done, Doing, Blocked
• Recorded video messages bridge the gap between text and meetings
• Decisions can be made asynchronously with structured formats

Up Next

In Lesson 3: Virtual Meetings That Work, you’ll learn to run the meetings that actually need to happen—focused, inclusive, and ending with clear outcomes.