Recently I read Jennifer Elder’s article Has effective writing become extinct? on the Business Learning Institute blog and it made me think about all the times I have not said, or rather written, what I meant. We write in a hurry, we use industry-speak, we confuse our audience.

If you use the written word to communicate with clients, you should consider the Six Simple Rules offered up in the article

 

1. Decide on your point
2. Analyze your audience
3. Answer all of the questions
4. Use the KISS principle
5. Pick the right tone
6. Write once, check twice

That last one – Write once, check twice – holds the key to effective communication. If what you’ve written fails to make sense to you, it won’t make sense to others.