Are you communicating... or just writing?

I was talking to a prospective client this week about the art and science of good writing. He shared a concern that I hear all the time: my people can't write. According to the National Commission on Writing for America's Families, Schools and Colleges, he's not alone.

The Commission estimates that deficiencies in employee writing skills costs American corporations as much as $3.1 billion a year.

But I'd add that the problem is larger. There is a difference between being able to write and communicating through effective writing. Stringing a bunch of words together in a reasonably clear and logical fashion-- sure, that's writing. Talking to your audience and expressing an authentic vision, idea, message, personality-- that's what communicating is all about.

Pam Slim over at the Escape From Cubicle Nation blog offered an insightful post this week, one that I think captures the difference. Plus, she offers some excellent advice for moving your writing and presenting from ho-hum to authentic and effective.

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First and foremost, the

First and foremost, the sender’s header (the “From” field) should have a name, and you should use a company email address if you can. If someone sees stevies747@hotmail.com, they’ll suspect it’s spam. If the sender’s header reads, “Steve Stevenson – Mister Stevenson Design Company” , they’ll know it’s a professional email from Steve, their trusted designer.

Start by making your website a link. Many email clients convert email addresses and websites into links automatically, but not always. When you’re creating the HTML for an email, make sure the link will appear by adding writing it in HTML. And instead of linking text like “My website,” type out the URL, which will be useful for those who want to copy and paste the address.

An email signature shouldn’t double the email’s length, so make it as short as possible (three lines is usually enough). Don’t get into your life story here. The purpose of a signature is to let them see who you are and how to get in touch with you.
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