Knowledge Base · Communication
What is SBAR, and how do I use it in an email?
SBAR is a structured way to communicate a situation clearly: Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation. State the issue in one sentence, give the relevant context, give your professional evaluation, then propose a specific action and what you need. In an email, use the four words as headings and keep each section to one or two sentences.
SBAR was developed by the U.S. Navy for communication on nuclear submarines and later adopted by healthcare to improve patient safety. Chapter 2 presents it as a powerful tool for any professional who needs to communicate a complex situation clearly and concisely. Its strength is that it removes rambling narratives and emotional language, and presents a logical case for action that a leader can grasp quickly.
- Situation: one sentence stating the immediate issue, the headline. For example: the website has been down for 30 minutes.
- Background: the relevant context. A security patch was pushed, the system did not reboot correctly, and this is the third time this quarter.
- Assessment: your evaluation. You believe the new patch is incompatible with the server's operating system, causing a critical failure.
- Recommendation: the specific action you propose and what you need, such as approval to roll back the patch immediately to get the site back online.
To practise it in email, Chapter 2 suggests using SBAR in your next three non-trivial emails. Write a clear subject line, type the four headings in the email itself, keep each section to one or two sentences so the whole message reads in 30 seconds, and notice whether you get a faster, clearer response than usual.
Related questions
- Why is communication called the oil of continuous improvement?
- How do I run a daily team huddle?
- What are the three modes of communication in a team?
Source: Continuous Improvement in the Workplace, Ch. 2 (Effective Communication for CI) and the CI glossary in the book's Appendix.