Effective Message

Strand’s Simply Writing Tips

Writing Effective Messages (1)

            The following article is the first in a series of guidelines for writing more effective messages more easily.  Every time you write an e-mail, a letter, a Facebook message, an article—wherever you say it with words—you have an opportunity to make something happen.   If you choose your words thoughtfully, you can help achieve a goal—no matter how trivial that might be—and build your own credibility. 

            Before you choose the words you want to use, keep in mind the following easy guidelines.

1.     Identify the recipient’s characteristics.  Is it someone who is always in a hurry and thus will only read part of your message?  Is it someone who needs to be convinced, requiring more details?  Is this a procrastinator who you know will need follow-up messages to achieve action?  Is this a group of people who you don’t know?  Does the group have any common characteristics you could address? Or, do you have no idea about the recipient, suggesting a more general approach?

2.     Know what you want to accomplish.  What is it you want your reader to do?  There are many reasons for writing: 

a.     to introduce yourself or your company;

b.     to correct a mistake – theirs or yours;

c.      to complain about poor service or a defective product. 

If you are clear in your own head what you want to accomplish, you will have direction when you write.  This is true for the simplest e-mail.  Just ask yourself when you start writing it:  What do I want the recipient to do?

3.      Inform the reader immediately what you want—in the opening statement.  There are some exceptions to this rule, but in general your first sentence should be an action statement:  this is what you want them to do or this is what you want them to know.  I find it exasperating to get a message that doesn’t tell me until the end what I’m supposed to do.  Or worse, the requested action is buried in the middle somewhere. Often, I miss the requested action, and neglect to respond appropriately.   If you tell us immediately what you want, we are more likely to read on to understand why we should do it, and are more likely to do as you request.

4.     Provide supporting statements.  After you have stated what you want, amplify your request.  This is where you provide the details for the reader to give your message credibility.   When you have clearly stated your goal in the beginning, these supporting statements help to convince the reader to do what you want.

5.     Inform the reader clearly what the result or benefit will be of doing what you ask.  Make a simple concluding statement:  the result of learning about my new company is that you will have a place to go to buy the most unique widget.  When you need a widget, you will be happy that you know about it.

In the next articles, I will provide some tips and exercises on how to compose each of these various components of effective business communications.  In the meantime, when you get ready to write your next business e-mail to customers, members, vendors, or colleagues, focus on your goal and what you want to achieve.  See if that helps turn writing into a simple tool rather than a complex drudgery.

Joyce T. Strand, Author

Jillian Hillcrest Mysteries

http://joycestrand.com

Strand’s Simply Writing

Writing Effective Messages(2)

            The following article is the second in a series to help you write more effective messages more easily.  Every time you write an e-mail, a letter, a Facebook message, an article—wherever you write it with words—you have an opportunity to make something happen.   If you choose your words thoughtfully, you can help achieve a goal—no matter how trivial that might be—and build your own credibility. 

            In the first article, I outlined five easy steps to achieve effective business communications: (1) identify your recipient (2) formulate a clear objective before you start writing (3) draft an action statement of what you want your reader to do as your first sentence (4) provide supporting statements for credibility  (5) conclude with the benefit or result if the reader complies. 

            In this article, I will further explore how to target your e-mail, letter, social media, or profile that you are scribing to address the characteristics of the recipient.

            It helps to draft a more effective message if you understand the characteristics of the recipient.  Do they get a lot of messages or letters?  How much time will they take to read your message? 

Is the recipient someone who values details? If so, be prepared to supply them.  Or, does the recipient appreciate brevity and typically adopts a “Just say it” approach.  If you know anything about the recipient, keep their traits in mind as you are composing your message and be sure to make the message as brief or as detailed as your recipient will appreciate.  Understanding the recipient will provide additional guidance for you as you compose your message.

            If you are sending a message to a group, it helps to identify the common characteristics of the group.  For example, if you are writing to members of the Rotary Club, the Chamber of Commerce, or your non-profit Board, keep in mind their commonality and be sure to mention it.  It might also be helpful to review other messages they receive in their role as members of the organization to gain insight into what they are accustomed to reading.

            If you don’t know about the recipient’s habits, typically it’s better to err on the side of brevity offering additional information if requested.  People in general are more likely to read shorter, get-to-the-point messages.  Alternatively, you can supply backup information as an attachment in the case of an e-mail or include additional printed materials if sending a printed letter. 

            In the next articles, I will provide some tips and exercises on how to compose each of the various components of effective message communications.  In the meantime, when you get ready to write your next business e-mail to customers, vendors, members, or colleagues, focus on what you know about your recipients and on what your goal is.  See if that helps turn writing into a simple tool rather than a complex drudgery.

Joyce T. Strand, Author

Jillian Hillcrest Mysteries

http://joycestrand.com

           

Strand’s Simply Writing

Writing Effective Messages (3)

            The following article is the third in a series to help you write more effective business messages more easily.  Every time you write an e-mail, a letter, a Facebook message, an article—wherever you write it with words—you have an opportunity to make something happen.   If you choose your words thoughtfully, you can help achieve a goal—no matter how trivial that might be—and build your credibility. 

            In the first article, I outlined five easy guidelines to achieve effective business communications: (1) identify your recipient’s characteristics (2) formulate a clear objective before you start writing (3) draft an action statement of what you want your reader to do as your first sentence (4) provide supporting statements for credibility  (5) conclude with the benefit or result if the reader complies. 

            In this article, I will further explore how to simply and quickly formulate a clear objective of your e-mail, letter, social media, or profile you are scribing. 

            First, there are many reasons for business communications—you are not just writing a friendly “How are you?” letter.  After you have identified the characteristics of who should receive your message, think about the reasons you are writing and keep the objective at the forefront of your thinking as you compose your message:

·      Change – to get the recipient to correct a mistake, change different direction, or make different choices. 

o   To correct a mistake on your bill

o   To supplement or amend an error in a memo that was sent at work

o   To recommend alternatives to throwing away cardboard boxes or electronics

·      Invitation:  To attend a fundraising event or join an organization

·      Follow-up:  We didn’t hear from you and we need to know your response

·      Purchase:  Buy a product or ticket

·      Introduction:  To familiarize recipient with your name to prepare for future messages.

·      Reminder:  to keep your name in front of the reader to build momentum. This could be in the form of a thank you or thinking about you.

·      Inform: 

o   Change of schedule

o   New location

o   Interesting—and relevant—factoid to establish you as expert

·      Complain:

o   Ranting without purpose is not usually effective. 

o   Prepare a coherent case for your complaint to achieve the result you want. 

Take the time to reflect what you want to achieve with your message and what you want your reader to do.

In the next article, I will provide some tips and exercises on how to compose that first action statement that is so important to achieve results.  In the meantime, when you get ready to write your next business e-mail to customers, vendors, members, or colleagues, focus on your goal and what you want to achieve.  See if that helps turn writing into a simple tool rather than a complex drudgery.

Joyce T. Strand, Author

Jillian Hillcrest Mysteries

http://joycestrand.com

           

Strand’s Simply Writing

Writing Effective Messages (4)

            The following article is the fourth in a series to help you write more effective messages more easily.  Every time you write an e-mail, a letter, a Facebook message, an article—wherever you write it with words—you have an opportunity to make something happen.   If you choose your words thoughtfully, you can help achieve a goal—no matter how trivial that might be—and build your credibility. 

            In the first article, I outlined four easy steps to achieve effective business communications:  (1) identify the recipient’s characteristics (2) formulate a clear objective before you start writing (3) draft an action statement of what you want your reader to do as your first sentence (4) provide supporting statements for credibility and (5) conclude with what the benefit or result will be if the reader complies. 

            In the second article, I highlighted how to take advantage of your knowledge of your recipient to help target your message.  In the third article, I amplified how to simply and quickly formulate a clear objective of your e-mail, letter, social media, or profile that you are scribing. 

This article focuses on how to formulate that critical first sentence to let the recipient know what you expect and why you are writing.  It is the most important part of your message and should be forceful to inform the reader immediately what you want.  Take a few minutes to review the following examples and then draft a few practice action statements.  When practicing, it helps to start with “I am writing you to ask you . . .”  Eventually, you may drop this statement.

·      Objective of Message: 

o   Change – to get the recipient to correct a mistake or proceed in a different direction or make different choices. 

·      Example of Introductory Opening Action Statement:

o   I am writing to ask you to correct a mistake you made on my bill.

·      Exercise to Prepare Introductory Opening Action Statement:

o   Write a first statement that asks your recipient to correct the listing by a local garage of your car and its license.  You do not know the recipient.

o   Write a first statement that addresses the misspelling of your name.   You do not know the recipient.

o   Write a first statement that tells Harry he made a mistake in his recent memo; you need him to send out a message correcting that statement.  Harry is your boss.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

·      Objective of Message

o   Invitation:  To get the recipient to attend a fundraising event or join an organization

·      Example of Introductory Opening Action Statement

o   This is a special invitation to invite you as a premier member of our organization to a unique event designed for you to have fun and simultaneously raise funds for our cause.

·      Exercise to Prepare Introductory Opening Action Statement

o   Write a first statement to invite someone to join your organization, e.g., the Chamber of Commerce, the Rotary Club, or your weekly meeting of those concerned about the future of education in California.  You do not know the recipient.

__________________________________________________________________________________________

·      Objective of Message

o   Introduction:  To familiarize recipient with your name to prepare for future messages.

·      Example of Introductory Opening Action Statement

o   Please make a note of my new company McCloughan and Schmeltz Publishing LLC (mccloughanandschmeltz.com) so that you are prepared to consult us when you need help to self-publish your book.

·      Exercise to Prepare Introductory Opening Action Statement

o   Write a first statement that introduces you to a new organization you’ve joined so that they’ll consider you for future activities.  You have knowledge of the recipients, who tend to be detail-oriented.

____________________________________________________________________________________________

·      Objective of Message

o   Complaint:  Ranting without purpose is not usually effective.  Prepare a coherent case for your complaint to achieve the result you want.

·      Example of Introductory Opening Action Statement

o   The service I received at your company was not acceptable and, unless corrected, will lead at best to my and other customers turning to your competitors.

·      Exercise to Prepare Introductory Opening Action Statement

o   Draft a first sentence letting your car dealer know that you are dissatisfied with the service you received that involved repeated trips to the garage and an engine that still stops working at every stop sign.  You don’t care that you know the recipient prefers brevity!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

In the next article, I will provide some tips and exercises on how to compose the supporting statements to add credibility and make your message convincing.  In the meantime, when you get ready to write your next business e-mail to customers, vendors, or colleagues, focus on your goal and practice with an action first-sentence.  See if that helps turn writing into a simple tool rather than a complex drudgery.

Joyce T. Strand, Author

Jillian Hillcrest Mysteries

http://joycestrand.com

Strand’s Simply Writing

Writing Effective Messages (5)

            The following article is the fifth in a series to help you write more effective messages more easily.  Every time you write an e-mail, a letter, a Facebook message, an article—wherever you write it with words—you have an opportunity to make something happen.   If you choose your words thoughtfully, you can help achieve a goal—no matter how trivial that might be—and build your credibility. 

            In the first article, I outlined five easy steps to achieve effective business communications:  (1) identify recipient characteristics (2) formulate a clear objective before you start writing (3) draft an action statement of what you want your reader to do as your first sentence (4) provide supporting statements for credibility and (5) conclude with the benefit or result if the reader complies. 

            In the second article, I highlighted how you could target your message with knowledge of your recipient.  Next, I amplified how to simply and quickly formulate a clear objective of your e-mail, letter, social media, or profile that you are scribing.    In the next article, we worked on how to draft an action-oriented first sentence to clearly define what you expect the recipient to do.

            Now it is time to develop the supporting sentences to add credibility and convince your reader to do what you’re asking.  Supporting sentences should be factual and/or clarifying statements to reinforce your action request and enable the recipient to comply with your request.  So if you’re asking the reader to correct a mistake on your bill, provide the information about the mistake.  Or if you are offering information you want the reader to store for future action, suggest the details that will make it worthwhile.  Following are some examples of supporting statements along with suggested exercises to help you strengthen your skills.

·      Objective of Message: 

o   Change – to get the recipient to correct a mistake or proceed in a different direction or make different choices. 

·      Example of Introductory Opening Action Statement:

o   You need to correct some misleading information that you recently sent to several of us.

·      Example of Supporting Statement

o   You may not have been aware that we changed the time for our meeting, and therefore will need to adjust the due dates of several items, including the one you covered in your e-mail.

·      Exercise to Prepare Supporting Statement:

o   Write a statement that supports your opening action statement to correct the listing by a local garage of your car and its license. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

·      Objective of Message

o   Invitation:  To attend a fundraising event or join an organization

·      Example of Introductory Opening Action Statement

o   This is an early invitation to invite you as a special member of our organization to an event at a unique venue, designed for you to enjoy and to raise money for our cause.

·      Example of Supporting Statement

o   Mark your calendar to come to Sam’s Castle in Pacifica overlooking the ocean in a 100-year-old castle built to withstand earthquakes and fires at the beginning of the 20^th century.  We have planned some interesting visitors to help with parlor games and skits to raise money for the cause.  Our goal is to raise $100,000.

·      Exercise to Prepare Supporting Statements

o   Write supporting statements for the following action statement:

You are invited to join the Chamber of Commerce [or Rotary Club] or your weekly meeting of those concerned about the future of education in California.  You do not know the recipient, although you are aware they are interested in the group.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

·      Objective of Message

o   Introduction:  To familiarize recipient with your name to prepare for future messages.

·      Example of Introductory Opening Action Statement

o   Please make a note of my new company McCloughan and Schmeltz Publishing LLC (mccloughanandschmeltz.com) so that you are prepared to consult us when you need help to self-publish your book.

·      Example of Supporting Message

o   McCloughan and Schmeltz specializes in making it easy for you to self-publish your latest book.  We offer a variety of packages for you to select how much you want us involved with the choice of a percentage or flat payment options.           

·      Exercise to Prepare Supporting Statements

o   Write supporting statements to corroborate your introduction of you as a new member of a group.  Your opening action statement is:  I am pleased to be joining you in [Rotary Club or book club, ??] and look forward to working with you on various activities.  You’ll want to highlight your qualifications of why you believe you will be a valuable member of the group.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

In the next article of this series, I will provide some tips and exercises on how to compose concluding statements to “seal the deal” by clearly stating the benefit to the recipient of doing what you ask.  In the meantime, when you get ready to write your next business e-mail to customers, vendors, members, or colleagues, focus on your objective, practice with an action first-sentence, and compose one or two supporting sentences.   See if that helps turn writing into a simple tool rather than a complex drudgery.

Joyce T. Strand, Author

Jillian Hillcrest Mysteries

http://joycestrand.com

Strand’s Simply Writing

Writing Effective Messages (6)

            The following article is the sixth and final in a series to help you write more effective messages more easily.  Every time you write an e-mail, a letter, a Facebook message, an article—wherever you write it with words—you have an opportunity to make something happen.   If you choose your words thoughtfully, you can help achieve a goal—no matter how trivial that might be—and build your credibility. 

            In the first article, I outlined five easy guidelines to achieve effective business communications:  (1) identify recipient characteristics (2) formulate a clear objective before you start writing (3) draft an action statement of what you want your reader to do as your first sentence (4) provide supporting statements for credibility (5) conclude with the benefit or result if the reader complies. 

            In the second article, I highlighted how you could target your message with knowledge of your recipient.  Next, I amplified how to simply and quickly formulate a clear objective of your e-mail, letter, social media, or profile that you are scribing.    Then, we worked on drafting action-oriented first sentences to clearly define what you expect the recipient to do, followed by suggestions of how to compose supporting statements to add credibility to your request.

            Now it is time to write that concluding statement that will “seal the deal.”  Since we are asking the recipient to do something—to remember your name, correct a mistake, or add your name to a special list—we need to say why it is in the recipient’s best interest to do so.  We have already provided the supporting statements that amplify the request.  Now it’s time to clearly state the benefit of positive response—even if it might be passive in the form of just remembering your name.

            This benefit statement is more than just a summary of your opening and supporting sentences.  It is a synthesis of those statements that reaches a conclusion.  As you practice writing your concluding statements, you might add the words:  “You will benefit from doing this by . . .”  Again, eventually you can drop these introductory words, but to help drive your words, they can be helpful. 

·      Objective of Message: 

o   Change – to get the recipient to correct a mistake or proceed in a different direction or make different choices. 

·      Example of Introductory Opening Action Statement (to your boss):

o   You need to correct some misleading information that you recently sent to several of us.

·      Example of Supporting Statement

o   You may not have been aware that we changed the time for our meeting, and therefore will need to adjust the due dates of several items, including the one you covered in your e-mail.

·      Example of Concluding Statement

o   By sending a message with the correct information to all of us, you can quickly fix the error and we can all adjust our schedules appropriately with little effort.  Alternatively, if you prefer I send the message, please let me know. 

·      Exercise to Prepare Concluding Statement:

o   Write a concluding statement that explains to your local garage the value of correctly listing the make of your car and its license. 

____________________________________________________________________________________________

·      Objective of Message

o   Invitation:  To attend a fundraising event or join an organization

·      Example of Introductory Opening Action Statement

o   This is an early invitation to invite you as a special member of our organization to an event on this date at a unique venue, designed for you to enjoy and to raise money for our cause.

·      Example of Supporting Statement

o   Mark your calendar to come to Sam’s Castle in Pacifica overlooking the ocean in a 100-year-old castle built to withstand earthquakes and fires at the beginning of the 20^th century.  We have planned some interesting visitors to help with parlor games and skits to raise money for the cause.  Our goal is to raise $100,000.

·      Example of Concluding Statement

o   By agreeing to attend this special event now by replying to this e-mail, you will be part of an exclusive group who will receive special privileges at the event, such as free parking, special time with our celebrity guests, and raffle tickets.  Above all, you will be supporting our cause to enable us to achieve our 2011 goals as outlined in the attachment. 

·      Exercise to Prepare Concluding Statement

o   Write a concluding benefit statement as part of your invitation for the recipient, who you do not know, to join your group.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

·      Objective of Message

o   Introduction:  To familiarize recipient with your name to prepare for future messages.

·      Example of Introductory Opening Action Statement

o   Please make a note of my new company McCloughan and Schmeltz Publishing LLC (mccloughanandschmeltz.com) so that you are prepared to consult us when you need help to self-publish your book.

·      Example of Supporting Message

o   McCloughan and Schmeltz specializes in making it easy for you to self-publish your latest book.  We offer a variety of packages for you to select how much you want us involved with the choice of percentage or flat payment options.

·      Example of Concluding Statement

o   By being aware of McCloughan and Schmeltz now, you are prepared for fast response to your self-publishing needs.  Watch for future messages when we’ll alert you to some of the issues of self-publishing to enable you to anticipate the timelines and costs.             

·      Exercise to Prepare Concluding Statements

o   Write concluding statements to corroborate your introduction of you as a new member of a group.  Your opening action statement is:  I am pleased to be joining you in [Rotary Club or book club, ??] and look forward to working with you on various activities.  You’ll want to conclude why they will benefit from using you to implement. ________________________________________________________________________________

You are now prepared to write effective business messages by following some simple guidelines, which hopefully you have assimilated.  If nothing else, keep in mind what you want your message to achieve and state that clearly as your first statement.  The rest of the message will fall into place if you keep these two main guidelines in mind.   You can help achieve a goal—no matter how trivial that might be—and build your own credibility with effective business communications.

See if that helps turn writing into a simple tool rather than a complex drudgery.

Joyce T. Strand, Author

Jillian Hillcrest Mysteries

http://joycestrand.com