Month: January 2015

Write Like You Mean It: Communicating With Intention & Clarity

Most professionals, aside from journalists and a few others, don’t consider themselves “writers.” That word immediately conjures images of a bedraggled coffee addict, bent over a typewriter — certainly not in tune with the hectic pace we keep in our modern workplaces. But here’s the thing: We all write, usually every day. Communication is an integral part of every job, no matter the stage of your career. And a good portion of that communication comes in a written form.

What do we write?

Emails, presentations, memos, notes to colleagues, fliers, reports, letters of recommendation, social media updates, website copy, text messages, to-do lists. It’s endless. We write constantly, and for what?

Why do we write?

  • To provide & exchange information
  • To instruct
  • To establish relationships
  • To request assistance
  • To share ideas
  • To be understood

So how can we help others understand us? Communication is a two-way street, after all, and you can’t assume your audience will be able to read your mind if you don’t provide proper clues about the meaning of your message.

1. Grammar

It sounds obnoxious, I know. Another siren going off from the Grammar Police squad car. But I promise you, it matters.

Meme with three baby seals on a disco dance floor reads "Stop clubbing, baby seals. Once again, punctuation makes all the difference."

This is one of my favorite grammar memes of all time (and yes, I am absolutely nerdy enough to have a favorite grammar meme).

The point is, simple things like comma placement can affect your reader’s interpretation of your sentence. Here’s a more practical example.

Imagine you have a coworker, Tom, who sends you the following email:

“I’m going to eat my work study student’s back in five minutes.”

What is Tom trying to tell you? Does he mean, as his punctuation indicates, that he is going to eat his work study student, vertebra by vertebra, in just five minutes’ time? If so, you’d better intervene. Cannibalism is frowned upon in the higher education sector.

Or does he mean, hopefully, “I’m going to eat. My work study student’s back in five minutes.” So don’t worry, he’s not planning on leaving the desk unattended for long.

Or should we assume that his sentence is riddled not only with grammatical errors, but also typos, and he actually meant to say “I’m going to eat with my work study students. Back in five minutes.”

In short, Tom is making you work pretty hard to understand what he’s trying to say.

2. Organization

Imagine that our friend Tom’s next task is to create a flier for an event at the college where he works. This gets posted around the school:

“It’s going to be a ton of fun! Refreshments will be served, starting at 6:30. Panelists include Hillary Clinton, J.Lo & Stephen Hawking. Join the discussion about child pageantry’s impact on American economic growth on November 8, 2014. 5pm in the auditorium.”

What time will the students show up for this event? (Spoiler alert: Probably 6:30.) But what time does it actually start? …5pm. Oops. Tom should have lead with his main idea.

In my own writing, I often use the chart below to organize thoughts and keep my structure in line (I actually learned this trick from my 10th grade English teacher. Shoutout to Mrs. Danis!)

Diagram shows a square with an upside down triangle above it, funneling into the square. Below it, there is a rightside up triangle. Top triangle reads "Intro," start broad with a brief introduction; then, express the point of your message clearly and quickly. Square reads "Make your point and/or provide information," say waht you need to say. Provide the necessary information to back up any claims you're making. Support your message. Bottom triangle reads "Wrap-Up," restate the intention of your message. Relate your point to the broader picture again, if necessary.

You want to be sure to present your information, your message, in a logical progression. Be clear. Have a point. Get that point across to your reader.

Which brings me to…

3. Tone

Tone can be a tricky thing. We all know that it’s not just what you say, but how you say it, and sometimes it’s easy to misinterpret intentions. We’ll visit our buddy, Tom, again.

As a follow-up to the event mentioned on his less-than-ideal flier, Tom writes an email to his colleague, Alice:

“Where are the photos from Econ of Child Pageantry? Thanks.”

If you’re Alice, what are you thinking when you open this email? What kind of mood is Tom in? How is he making you feel? Does he respect you? Value your work? Even if he meant it perfectly innocently, and is simply requesting Alice’s assistance with the photographs, this is not a great way to go about it. In two sentences, Tom comes off as abrupt, dismissive, cold, and a little condescending. Adding “thanks” at the end hardly adds a warm, fuzzy feeling to the previous sentence.

For a better example, we’ll look at Alice’s response. As you can see, she follows the diagram from earlier: A brief introduction, followed by a clear message, and then a closing remark.

“Hi, Tom. The photos are all in the shared drive, in a folder labeled
“Horrible Mistakes — 11.08.14.” Let me know if you have trouble finding them, but they should all be there. Thanks for all your help with the event! I thought it went great!” — Alice

Feel the difference?

4. Keep it concise.

As a general rule, you should say whatever it is you have to say…and then stop. We’re all guilty of being a little wordy from time to time, but it only serves to bore your reader and bury your real message in a mess of lengthy text.

Try to cut sentences down as much as possible. Instead of saying “On account of financial difficulties, I believe it would be most prudent to re-evaluate our stance on budgetary expenditures,” put your red pen to work. In most cases, it’s both clearer and easier to say something like, “We should re-evaluate our spending in light of financial difficulties.” Make the red pen your friend.

5. Read what you write.

Wait a few seconds before hitting send on that email, or publishing that blog post. Read over your work with an eye for detail. It’s easier to fix mistakes now than to apologize for them later.

Things to Try:

  • Reading aloud
  • Putting your writing to the side & re-reading it later
  • Change the font & THEN read it.
  • Write. Wait 15 seconds. Hit send/post.

With a little extra effort, you’ll save yourself a lot of headaches.
Apply some of these strategies, and let me know in the comments if they helped improve your communication! Happy writing!

Bonus!
Some of my go-to writing resources: