Have you ever received an email message that you thought could have been communicated in a better way? I bet if you were one of the 400 Radio Shack employees who were laid off last fall via an email message, you have this thought. (In defense of the situation, executives at Radio Shack said “they (the employees) were warned that firings would be made via email. . . ). Does that justify it? I don’t think so.
This situation got me thinking about all the times that sending email is appropriate and more importantly, when it is NOT appropriate. Here are just a few situations at work I thought about:
Do you find yourself writing a lot but getting little results?
To write effective business communication, there are 2 things that should be an overriding theme: 1) grab the reader’s attention and 2) layout your document, so visually, your reader wants to continue reading.
Grabbing the Reader’s Attention
To connect with the reader, do not open with something that is stuffy, formal or includes, “Please find the blah, blah, blah.” Talk to the reader. Write to them the way that you would talk.
Ask a question. Open with a quote or a joke or a reminder of a recent time together – something that connects you to them. What you are aiming for is the reader Read More...
As business becomes more complex, people have more distractions and less time to thoroughly read documents. Therefore, the ability to communicate effectively in writing, especially email and on the web, becomes more critical than ever.
Write with a clear purpose in mind, and state that purpose at the very beginning of your written communication. Readers should know at a glance what your email, report, or letter is about, why you are sending it, and what action you want them to take.
Here are 10 tips to help you write more effectively:
- Keep it simple.
You may think complex sentences make you sound impressive, but they can prevent your Read More...
Whenever you write a document, it is always good to let sit for a little while before you push the send or print button.
For a rule of thumb is, the longer you can wait between finishing writing and the editing, the better. It gives your mind time to digest and rest so when you come back to edit, you are looking at the document with fresh eyes.
Here are five easy to follow steps to help you in the editing process:
- Read the document through from top to bottom and just get an overall big picture. If it is fairly clear what the message you are trying to convey is? Does this concept pop out? A good check is to take another person read the document and as them to tell you in Read More...
I would like to explore how your results can be improved by correctly using positive and negative words in your written communication.
People tend to remember the first and last words you say. Therefore, the two most impactful sentences of your writing should have positive connotations, and those sentences are the ones you use to open and close.
This may be harder than you think if you are not conscious of what you are writing. ABC News recently reported that negative words dominate our language. In fact, “Half of all the words that people produce from their working vocabulary to express emotion are negative. And 30 percent are positive and 20 percent are neutral.”
When someone Read More...
When it comes to communication, the most powerful word is “you.” It doesn’t matter what language, the power of the word “you” is universal. When this word is used, you put the focus on the other person, not on yourself, and the results can be magical.
This is such a powerful concept that it can literally change your business for the better. In communicating your message most effectively, whether in advertising, in person or business writing, it is really about the other person or their needs, their interest, their desires. When people read or listen to a message and it has their name or “you” or “yours” in it, it automatically becomes about them and the benefits Read More...
Persuasive writing follows a simple four part formula that, when executed properly, will persuade your reader to take the desired action you want them to. Your persuasive writing should contain these four elements: attention, interest, desire, action. When you keep it simple, it is very effective, especially in writing.
Attention
This is simply getting your reader’s attention. It is something that involves them personally. Get straight to the point with something that will grab their attention and make they want to read further. For instance, ask them a question, tell them something specific about a recent meeting or phone call the two of you had or share a relevant Read More...
To ensure the results you intend when you are communicating in writing, the key is to know your purpose from the very beginning of the process. Why are you writing? What is the point? What is the best way to get what you want? There are two things that come to my mind immediately.
First, it is essential that we actually know what we want. Both for us and what you want your reader to do. Too often we receive poor results from our efforts simply because we do not know what we want when we set out to write a letter or to write a request.
Without a clear target to shoot at or an end result in mind, it is difficult to lead others to see things your way and take action. Let us face it; writing Read More...
Reccomended Product – The Best-Kept Secrets of Great Communicators
When you investigate the most powerful and influential people in the world, you will discover that they all have something in common. Effective communication.
Whether they personally possess such skills or have hired a support team that did, ultimately, effective communication was one of the fundamental keys to their success. Using the Read More...
The purpose of following these guidelines for your business writing is to get the reader to read your document. You want your document to be pleasing to the eye and not overwhelming.
The first area that I would like to address is the usual white space. The white space is simply the amount of paper that you see as opposed to the amount of text you see on the paper. A good test to see how much white space is used is to ‘print preview’ the document and set the percentage to about 25% or so. In other words, you will see the document on the screen but you won’t be able to read the words. This way, you will get a good feel for how much black there is against the white. Read More...
