Workplace readers often say they want short documents. But shorter doesn’t always equal an easier reading experience. Consider these jury instructions: A fact is established by direct evidence when proved by documentary evidence or by witnesses who saw the act done or heard the words spoken. A fact is established by circumstantial evidence when it may be fairly and reasonably…
I recently discovered Leslie O’Flahavan’s Writing Matters blog and thought I’d share her analysis of some bad writing. Follow the link to see how she re-wrote the email. I look forward to reading more of Leslie’s work. Text of Customer Service Email Leslie Explains Why This is Bad Customer Service Writing Click on the Links for…
A while back, I included a personal example of audience analysis. Thanks to Tom Orr for suggesting that I follow up by showing y’all the letter. I decided it might be helpful to share even more of the process — like how we developed the content for the first draft. So here goes. Purpose & Audience:…
Yesterday I made the point that workplace readers don’t read minds. It’s the writer’s job to give them the information they need to get the writer’s message. So what do pros do when they aren’t sure what their readers need to know? The smartest way to proceed is to interact with the readers BEFORE sending…
I can think of few reasons why anyone would read a document in the workplace if they already knew what was in it. Sadly, workplace rookies have little experience writing for an audience who knows less than they do. (Remember they’ve created documents exclusively for teachers since they learned to write.) That means their documents…