THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL

Ok, the writing isn’t really on the wall but let’s talk about written communication. Writing is one of my favorite ways to communicate!

When you speak, your words are out there. You can’t take them back, you can’t change them, they are forever out in the world. But with writing, you can write, erase, re-write, erase again, edit, change, move things around…you get the idea. Written communication is the easiest to get just right. This also means that you have a responsibility to get it right!

Written communication can take on many forms. Common examples include email, reports, letters, and memos. To help you make sure your written communication is on the mark, regardless of the form or nature of the message, here are 4 tips to help make sure you get it right!

1. Tone is tricky. When you speak, you have the added benefit of body language and the nuances of your voice to help you with the tone of your message. In writing, you only have the words on the page to convey your tone. Depending on the setting of the communication, you can use emojis or images to help establish the tone of your message. However, in more formal settings, like reports or some emails, the use of images or emojis is inappropriate. If your message is an email, you can start off with a friendly greeting before jumping into your message. This can help set the tone for you. The best way to ensure that the tone of your message is conveyed properly is to be clear and direct. Try to keep out any extra verbiage that can cloud the tone you are trying to set.

2. Keep it simple. Writing can be difficult enough, so why do many of us make it even harder by adding so many unnecessary words? Remember that the quality of your words is far more important than the quantity. Word count shouldn’t be your guiding light here but make sure that you aren’t diluting your message by adding too much fluff to the message.

3. Revise, edit, re-read. The best thing about writing is that you can revise it, edit it, change it, and redo it if needed. When you speak, you get one shot at getting the words out the right way, there are no take-backs. But with written communication, you have the chance, and the responsibility to get it perfect before you publish it!

When you sit down to write, start by getting all the ideas, words, and thoughts you have onto the page. Once you are done, you can go back and make changes, move things around, edit, revise, etc. You can do this as many times as you want! I always recommend letting things sit after the first edit. Give it a day and then come back to it to continue editing. Giving it time to sit allows your mind to rest so that when you come back, you can review with a clear head. You won’t have to do this for all types of written communication, but it’s good practice to re-read your words before you hit publish on a blog post or send an email. Always give a final proofread before you deliver a finished product or message.

4. Size matters. Sure, font size matters, but that isn’t what I am referring to. The size of your paragraphs is important in written communication. If you string together a paragraph that is 2 pages long, you will lose your audience in the first 3 sentences. When writing an email, I recommend no more than one idea and about 3 sentences per paragraph. Otherwise, people will tune out very quickly. When writing a formal report, 5-6 sentences is a good target. All sentences of the paragraph should support the opening sentence and they should flow together nicely to convey your message. Remember, if it looks too long or too jumbled together, the audience will lose interest before they even start reading.

There are many forms of written communication, and each has its own quirks. While these tips are not a set-in-stone way to prepare all written communications, they should give you guidance when preparing a variety of written materials.

*Pro-Tip: Don’t do your own proofreading! When you proof your own material, your brain will fill in the blanks if you have left something out. Someone else will see what you have left out because the material is new to them. Need help with proofreading? We can help with that! Click HERE to let us know how we can help you with proofreading your written materials!

Thanks for stopping by!

Ciao for now!