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Welcome to IMA Associates' 1st Newsletter!
Strong writing skills have become
increasingly critical
to job success. People across all industries and at all
levels are writing more than ever before: e-mail,
proposals, reports, procedures, manuals, etc. Today,
good writing means being able to express ideas
clearly, concisely, and correctly—and as quickly as
possible.
When you write well, you establish credibility
with
readers, earning their trust and confidence. Just
as
important, you contribute to your own career
advancement; writing skills have become a
significant
factor in hiring and promoting decisions.
In this and in future newsletters I look forward to
sharing the tools and techniques for being a
competent, confident writer and invite you to share
your ideas.
How to Get People to Read Your E-mail
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Do you read every e-mail that lands in your inbox? If
you’re like most business professionals who receive a
flood of e-mails every day, probably not.
Studies show that most people take less than 10
seconds to decide whether to read an e-mail. That
creates two challenges for you as a writer:
- Capturing readers’ attention in the first place so
they will open your e-mail or at least preview it.
- Holding their interest so they will read your entire
message or at least enough of it so you will
accomplish your purpose for writing in the first
place.
So, how can you meet those challenges?
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To capture readers’ attention:
- Write an eye-catching, specific subject
line; it
may be the only hint your readers may have about
why you’re writing. Think of the subject line as a
newspaper headline that gives readers a clue about
the content of your message.
Instead of: Staff
meeting
rescheduled
Write: New
staff meeting date: April 6,
9:30 a.m.
Instead
of: Proposal
approved
Write: Extra day off
proposal
approved
Keep the subject line brief so
it’s not cut off when it
appears in a reader’s inbox.
- Open with a statement that tells your
readers what they want to know or what you
want them to know or do. This should be the
main point or purpose of your e-mail.
Everyone:
I’ve rescheduled our staff meeting to April 6 at 9:30
a.m. in the boardroom.
Dave Green will join us at 9:45 to discuss the new
health insurance plans.
Jean:
Congratulations! Mel approved your proposal to give
everyone who worked on the system conversion an
extra day off this year.
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To hold readers' interest:
- Put the most important information at the
beginning: action taken or requested, deadlines,
numbers, and key supporting details. Follow with
additional details in descending order of importance.
So, if readers don’t read the whole e-mail, or if they
just use the preview pane, they will have read the
most critical part of the message.
Our new cafeteria will open on May
5 at 7 a.m.
We invite you to stop by for a continental breakfast
on us and a view of the delicious lunch offerings. The
first 50 employees who visit will receive a free lunch
voucher.
- Keep the message brief: one page with
short lines and paragraphs. Limit sentence length to
an average of 8–12 words and paragraphs to 4–5
lines. If you have more information than that, add it
as an attachment.
I’ve heard people
say, “If a message is too long, I won’t even bother
reading it."
- Use correct grammar, punctuation, and
spelling for two critical reasons:
- To project a professional image and establish
credibility with your readers.
- To ensure that the meaning of your message is
clear and understood the first time it is
read.
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Ilana G. Traverse, Principal
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