Sloppy writing: Don't let it hold you back -PART II

Know your audience and tailor your message to the audience

The best written report packed with the right data will not be worth very much if it fails to meet the expectations of the intended audience. Good writers will craft their message to their targeted audience or better yet, a specific person. They way you would write for the company chairman would be very different to the way you would write on the same subject matter to a group of junior executives.

Unfortunately this does not apply to style of writing!

Unfortunately most young executives fail to realise this very important rule and know of only one way of writing to everyone! Of course its easier to do but this is not what people who want to be come Stars should be practicing. There are no shortcuts to creating excellence, effort needs to be put into it.

Make sure you are aware of the prefered formats for the different people that you will be writing to. The format for a Board of Directors paper will be radically different from the format for a memo to your Boss. Utilise your network within the company to find out the individual preference of the various people who you will need to prepare written materials. Some people need to know the details whereas some people are more interested in the ‘Big Picture’ issues.

Azhar  was a young executive who was asked to prepare a discussion paper for a Board of Directors meeting by the Chairman. After seeking the advice of his office mates who had worked with the Chairman before he found out that the Chairman was formerly an academic and was used to a very academic writing style.

Good targeted communications gets good results!

Taking this que, Azhar produced the paper with extensive references listed in the bibliography and included footnotes as further reference in his paper. The Chairman who had not seen such high quality work since he left the academic field was very impressed. Whereas most people would not have taken the trouble that Azhar did, his extra effort differentiated him from the other young executives in the company.

Even a single badly written piece can be potentially very damaging, be careful.

On the other hand , it is an unfortunate fact of life that it is the single, badly written proposal that the important people in your career will tend to remember more, rather than the dozens of good assignments you have delivered in the past. You are only as good as your last piece of work.

Finally the language that you use must be suitable for the audience that you are trying to reach to. A memo to the CEO outlining the key strategies of your latest advertising and promotions campaign will not be written in the same style that you would be writing a memo on the same subject to the corporate communications manager. Whereas it would be acceptable to use advertising jargon with the communications manager, it would not be the case for the CEO unless you have information which suggests otherwise.

Remember, be clear in your mind who you need to communicate to and tailor your message to them and what matters to them. If you like this and the previous article, do come back for parts III and IV or subscribe via e-mail so that you do not miss it. I would also be grateful if you could like and share these articles with you friend who you think may benefit. If you have a point of view, do leave a comment. I would love to hear from you.