Before you pick up your pen or place your hands on your keyboard to write, you must first decide what kind of message you want to convey. There are only two:

1. Messages that tell about facts and events.
2. Messages that sell an idea or a concept.

Tell Messages are primarily informative: they simply pass along information and do not expect the reader to respond. Consequently they need to be clear, concise, and definite. Because they deal with tangibles (facts, events, occurrences, happenings), you can get straight to the point and need describe only the essential details.

Sell Messages have to be persuasive: they present an idea or concept and require the reader to act or react, by agreeing with, approving, or implementing the idea, suggestion, or proposal. Consequently, if your reader is to react in the way you want, your communication must be convincing.

Because sell messages deal with intangibles (ideas, concepts, suggestions, proposals), you must develop the background and details in sufficient depth so that the reader has all the information he or she needs to make a decision or take the appropriate action. Yet you have to be prudent and avoid presenting too much information, so that your message does not become obscure.

Focus Your Message

The most efficient way to communicate information is to put the most important information right up front. This means you have to

Tell
The Reader
Right Away What
He or She Most Wants
To Know (or Needs to Know)

In letters and short reports and proposals this is called a Summary Statement; in long reports and proposals it is known as the Summary.

Know Your Audience

Once you have established your purpose for writing (to tell or to sell) you must understand who you are writing to. Knowing that you should identify your main message and then place it right at the start of every communication is a major step toward efficient, effective communication. But there is another, equally important, component to consider: the person or people you are writing to. In fact, identifying your audience clearly before you write will also help you formulate an effective Summary Statement.

Often you will know exactly who you are writing to, in which case it is relatively easy to identify what that particular person wants or needs to hear from you. However, there will be other times when you will not personally know your reader, and then you have to identify the type of person--or people--who will be reading your words.

Ask Questions

When you have a reader in mind, ask yourself four specific questions about that person:

• What does my reader want to know?
• What does my reader need to be told?
• What does my reader know now (about the subject of my letter)?
• Who else is likely to read my letter?
• If there is more than one reader, who will make a decision based on the information I am sending?

Focus on Your Primary Reader

When you have answered these questions, you will be ready to write both your Summary Statement and the Supporting Information. In a short letter or proposal, you generally aim your information at a single reader-- the primary reader. In a longer report or proposal you can structure your information so that different parts can appeal to different readers.

Please email me your ideas or thoughts at LisaM@rgilearning.com and I can address them in a future article.

© 2006, RGI Learning Lisa Moretto is the President of RGI Learning, Inc. For 15 years she has helped engineers improve their oral and written communication skills. Visit www.rgilearning.com or call (585) 461-3617 to learn about RGI's courses.

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