Effective

Effective Written
Written
Communication
Communication
 Summary of the Tips 

1. Be clear about your goal and communicate it

2. Explain what you want the person receiving it to
do
3. Explain the benefits for responding as
requested 
4. Establish credibility and show respect for the
reader
5. Choose an appropriate communication method.  
 Each is explained in more
detail.
• Tip 1: Be clear about your goal and communicate it
• First, you must know your goal in writing to someone.  What
are you trying to achieve by the communication?
• Do you want someone to do something for you?
• Do you want them to take a specific action in response to
your message?
• Do you want to pass along information where the receiving
person does not need to reply?
• Do you want to discuss a subject and exchange views with
someone else?
• State your goal clearly in your message.
 Writing to a stranger when you want them to
do something for you.
• Here's a bad example. 
The following is an e-mail received by an Online-
Newsletter Publisher.
Hi I 'm looking for some information about
managing change. What this?How it works?Could
you also give me some examples about that topis and
a small texr dealing about that?
Thanks in advance.
Does that message inspire someone to help?  
They did not respond to that one at all.
 Good Example
Dear Barbara and Michael,
I was looking at your website and thought you might be interested
in submitting an article, 500-700 words, for our new online
newsletter, Working Spirit: for those of us who are unwilling to
"leave our souls in the parking lot" during the work week.
The first issue of Working Spirit is slated to be delivered to over
10,000 CEOs, managers and HR people in corporations all over
the country in early September. We intend to introduce principals
of spirituality and values-based management techniques to CEOs,
HR people, and other corporate professionals. Working
Spirit is produced by Brush Dance, Inc. We are a leading publisher
of greeting cards, journals, calendars, and gift items for the Mind,
Body, Spirit community. Currently, Brush Dance products are sold
in 2,000 stores throughout the United States.
I hope to hear from you soon regarding the newsletter and article
possibilities. Perhaps you'd like to exchange links as well.
Sincerely,
Randy Peyser Editorial Director, Brush Dance, Inc. 
 Tip 2: Explain what you
want the person to do
• In the bad example, the writer stated what they
wanted.  However, the topic "managing change" is so
large and the message so poorly written that it did
not inspire us to take any action at all.  It is similar
to many requests we get that go unanswered. 
• In the good example, the writer clearly states what
they would like us to do — write an article and
respond to the e-mail message.
• In addition, they specified the size of an article, the
intended audience and gave information about the
timing of their first issue.  That provides more
detailed  information so we can better evaluate
whether we can do what they ask. 
 Tip 3: Explain the benefits for
responding as requested 
• In the bad example, no explanation was given about
any benefits to us for responding. 
• In the good example, the writer provided information
about the intended audience of their newsletter and
how many people it would reach.  In addition, the
subject matter is one that we are interested in, which
the writer clearly referenced.  The benefit to us was
implied — a larger audience for a subject we support. 
 Tip4.Establish credibility and show respect for
the reader
• In the good example, the writer provided
information about their job function, the
company behind the newsletter, their other
products and services, their audience and
their distribution outlets.  He showed respect
by taking the time to make sure we were
interested in his subject. 
 Tip 5: Choose an appropriate
communication method  
• E-mail is quickly replacing formal business
letters in many situations because of the faster
turn-around time.  The majority of major
corporations now have e-mail systems and a
growing percentage of small business also have
e-mail. 
• When writing to strangers, the techniques
described above apply equally to e-mail or to
formal business letters.  
• E-mail may be very informal between people
who already have an established relationship. 
However, when writing to someone you don't
know, we suggest taking the time to compose
your message as you would a formal business
letter for greater effectiveness.