If you want to make an impact, you have to get people to pay attention to what you have to say. The pressure is on you, though, to make sure your message is clear, compelling, and memorable. One helpful technique is to read things out loud. When you’re writing something important – whether it’s a memo to the board or an email to your boss – read the material aloud to yourself. Hearing your own words forces you to ask:
Am I saying this as clearly as I can and as memorably as I can? Am I starting off with a lede that will stop people in their tracks when they have hundreds of other emails to read? Reading your words out loud helps you gain enough distance to really assess whether you’re using data in interesting and clever ways – and whether your story appeals to the emotional, as well as the rational.
Adapted from “
Why You Should Read Your Memo Out Loud,” by Bill Taylor (video).
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment