My fourth “rule to write by” is The “Begin with the End in Sight” Theory. Before creating any communication, determine what it should accomplish. That will help you build the right content and words into it—increasing the chances you’ll get what you want.
Let’s face it: all communications are meant to persuade. The proposal to get management to accept a new idea or to choose to work with your company. The invitation to a brainstorming session you wish people to attend. The news release on a new product or service. You want the people who read it to do something.
Here’s the irony. The most common failure in communication is that the writer does not include a call to action.
How many times have you read an email about a change in your company, and then asked yourself, “So, what do they want me to do about it?” Or you see the new strategic plan and wonder, “How am I supposed to support this?” Or you get a pitch from a vendor on a new service, which includes all the features and benefits—and just ends there.
The best piece of compelling copy will be for naught if people don’t know what to do next. Because what they will do next is toss it out or hit the delete key.
Here are my tricks of the trade to make sure my readers know what’s expected of them—and that I’ve made it easy for them to take that next step.
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Trick #1: Know What You Want. How many times have you fired off an email response or returned a phone call and not thought about what you hope will happen? The next time, spend that extra few seconds before and actually answer this question: “What do I want people do after this?” If you believe in visualization, picture them taking the action you’d like. Then ask yourself some simple questions:
- What problems will my approach solve for them? (Once again—people run away from pain faster than they run toward features and benefits.)
- What will they need to know so they can agree with me?
- What barriers would prevent them from taking the actions I want?
- How can I include information—in this communication or somewhere else—that will overcome these?
By knowing what you want—and how you can make others want the same thing—you’ve automatically increased the chances your reader will be persuaded by what you propose.
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Trick #2: Write with “Yes” in Mind. Have you ever had to write a memo and thought, “They’ll never sign off on this!” And, of course, you were right. It’s the reverse of positive thinking. When you’re sure your ideas will be rejected, that negativity will leak out in a million ways: the words you choose, the way you organize the information, and how much time you spend answering possible objections in advance.
If you can’t write with the belief that your ideas will be accepted, then do something else until you can. Listen to Henry Ford: “If you think you can do a thing or you think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” Don’t shoot yourself in the foot before you begin. If this is an important communication, also know when is a good time to write it. If you’re a morning person, don’t start at 3:00 in the afternoon when you’re at low energy.
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Trick #3: Include the Call to Action. Tell your readers what you want them to do—and how to do it. If it’s a proposal, media “pitch” letter, or formal communication, the call to action falls at the end. You have used the rest of the piece to present your case so they will agree with you, and now you tell them how this should look.
If you’re writing an email, then put the call to action at the top. You may even want to put it in the subject line. This presumably is a shorter communication, so let your readers know right away what you want and then provide the (brief) details. Most people scan their emails. If your request falls at the bottom, they may not choose to scroll down several paragraphs to find out what you want and might miss it.By the way—don’t make this a “call me if you want to discuss this further.” You have no idea what else is on their plates, how important this is to them, or how many other things are hanging fire on their desks. Let them know when you will call to discuss the ideas—and then follow up.
I’m hoping you’ll heed my call to action! Since I can’t follow up with you, please let me know what you think about this theory, these tricks, or any of the other writing rules I’ve been blogging about. Even better—share the strategies that are effective for you. Let’s give each other a hand.
Lynn Franklin says she started Lynne Franklin Wordsmith 16 years ago because …”I was in danger of being made a partner at the world’s largest investor relations agency. Or because a tarot card reader told me to. Or because I wanted to prove my theory that wearing pantyhose didn’t make me more productive. All of those would be true.”
| Comments |
| RE: Fourth Rule to Write By: The |
| Another terrific posting, Lynne. Thank you. Your theory about beginning with a goal for the communications piece shouldn’t be surprising to anyone but all too often, people seem to get lost in the detail of the writing without remembering to focus on the goal of the piece. Writers do this at their peril – as do any sales people who forget to ask for the order or conduct a sales conversation without a positive outcome always in mind! Kim Dougherty |
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