Writing Effectively

Writing Effectively

3.2      Writing Effectively

Although some of the following information relates to either email or paper communication, it is mainly geared towards email since so much of our work involves email. However, you can apply most of the advice to paper communication as well.

3.3.1        Subject Lines

When you are writing a letter or an email, the subject line of the communication is like the headline in a newspaper. It calls your attention to the communication and should also let you know what it is about. The best subject lines will also tell you what needs to be done–and will let the recipient prioritize which emails to open first and which ones to ignore for later (or altogether!)

What do these subject lines tell you about the information that will follow?

1.   Response to Your Email

2.   Question

3.   Hello

4.   Meeting

5.   Information for you

By these subject lines, can you tell any information about what will follow? Sure, the first one could be clear if the receiver has only written one email that day. But most of us handle dozens, if not hundreds, of emails every week. It’s unlikely the receiver will remember exactly what you are responding to.

The other subject lines are too general. They don’t specify what information will be contained or what action the recipient needs to take. If there is important or urgent information included, it might go unread Or opened, scanned, and dismissed. Instead,  try subject lines such as:

·         Information on Open House Tuesday, June 22, 2010–Please RSVP!

·         Question Regarding the Change in Health Benefits–Response Needed

·         Meeting Requested on New Website Design–Please Confirm Availability

·         URGENT! Change in On-Call Schedule for Memorial Day Weekend

·         Response to Your Question on the Marketing Plan for 3^rd Quarter

Each of these tells the reader what information they will find when they open the email, and also tells them whether or not they need to take action. The reader can decide which of these is most important and process the incoming emails in the best order.

3.3.2      Put the Main Point First

When you write your communication, you need to know exactly what, why, and to whom you are writing. Are you simply giving information, asking for information, or requesting the other person to take an action? If you can’t narrow down the point, you either aren’t ready to write or writing isn’t the right choice of communication formats to use.

Once you know what the main point of your email is, you should put that first in the communication. We all tend to scan written communication to save time, focusing more at the top of the information than the bottom. Putting your main information at the top of the communication pulls the reader’s attention to the main topic, request or instruction. You can follow with background information after you’ve stated the reason for writing–but if you start with the background information, you risk your reader missing the point of the communication.

Here’s a bad example:

Dear Tom,

I spent some time with Joan this morning reviewing the numbers from last quarter’s sales results. I was concerned to see that there seems to be a down ward trend in sales of the Widget Deluxe, which is significantly different from what we forecasted. I am concerned that this might have an impact on our launch of the Widget Super Deluxe planned for next quarter. I think we should meet with the marketing team and the sales team to see if we can identify any possible issues with the sales and fulfillment process that we could influence. Would you let me know when you are available this week?

Thanks,

 Julie

Notice the subject line? Again, it’s not precise. Then the writer doesn’t get to the point of the communication until the last line. If the reader is scanning for information, he might not even get to the last line before moving onto the next email. If that happens, you’ll have to write another communication or follow-up with a phone call–which is a waste of your time.

Now read this version:

Subject: Request to Meet with You Regarding Sales Process–Please Respond Dear Tom,

I’d like to meet with you, the sales team, and the marketing team this week to discuss the impact of the latest sales trends on the launch of Widget Super Deluxe. Would you be available on Monday at 3pm for about an hour?

I spent some time with Joan this morning reviewing the numbers from last quarter’s sales results. I was concerned to see that there seems to be a downward trend in sales of the Widget Deluxe, which is significantly different from what we forecasted. I think we should attempt to identify any possible issues with the sales and fulfillment process.

Thanks,

Julie

See the difference? The second email has a clear subject line that asks for a response. It gets to the point in the first paragraph. Even if the reader is scanning the information, he will have a better chance of getting the message.

3.3.3      Know Your Audience

When you are writing a communication, you need to be able to identify to whom you are writing. Sure, you could be writing to the ‘world’ of your organization or the ‘world’ of all of your customers, but you need to know what it is that they will gain from your communication. Is it just information for everyone, or are there particular unidentified members of the audience who need to receive your communication, recognize the information that is important to them, and then take a specification?

For example, say you are changing the HMO health care plan at the office so that domestic partners are now eligible for coverage. You might be sending the communication to everyone in your organization, but your true audience is employees that have domestic partners. In thinking about those people, what information do they need? What choices do they need to make?  What concerns might they have in acting on the information? How can you handle those concerns in your communication? Identifying your audience helps you target and fine tune the communication in order to make it as effective as possible.

Another aspect of knowing your audience is being aware of what they don’t know. Most of us have a ‘lingo’ that we use in the day to day operations of our work. They might be technical terms, references to internal structures or teams, or acronyms that are shared among peers. However, you need to be certain that every member of your audience would understand that lingo or acronym before using it–and that every person they might forward your communication to would also understand it. When in doubt, add a brief explanation or spell it out.

3.3.4      Organization of the Message

Perhaps your communication has more than one request or call to action. If the actions are unrelated to each other, the best choice is to send a separate email for each one. That requires your reader to see each topic in the subject line and then to respond accordingly.

However, you might have situations where you have several requests or several important facts for the reader. In that case, you need to organize the information in a way that increasesthechancethatthereaderwillgiveyoualloftheinformationortakealloftheactionsthat you request. You can do this by using topic headings that still put the main topic of the communication at the top such as: Response Needed, Background, Concerns. Or RSVP Requested Instructions, Directions, and FAQs. You could also use bullets or numbers for each sub topic. Or consider using bold or colored font to highlight request educations.  One word of caution–avoid using all capital letters, which can be interpreted as ‘yelling’.

Your job is to make it easy and fool-proof for your reader to get your message. Use whatever tools you can employ to ensure that the message is delivered fully, as long as they are still professional and appropriate for your audience.