Does Your Business Writing Pass the Personality Test?

If you want to take a small but invaluable step towards corporate communication that might actually engage people rather than bore the pants off them, put all your comms through this simple personality test. You need 4 out of 4 otherwise it's rewrite time: 

• is it saying something of interest to the reader

if this is a no, stop straight away ...

• is there any sign of emotion (other than the inane jolliness or relentless falseness that many corporate communicators mistake for humanity)? 

relief, fatigue, anxiety and delirium are all valid emotions in business. Don't pretend; be real

• is there any empathy with the reader?

show some real understanding of issues, concerns or the environment people are in

• could it be read out loud without embarrassment?

too much business writing would never be said out loud by a human being. If it sounds wrong, it is wrong

Building relationships is easier with a bit of personality. It's worth the effort.

Comments

[Liz Tucker]

I think the problem many writers have is that they find it really difficult to think of their document from the reader's point of view, and therefore can't work out if what they have written is likely to interest the reader or not!

[Anthony]

Liz, I agree with you. Tragic, isn't it? Perhaps if all writers of business communication were obliged from time to time to stand in front of an audience and read their most recent work out loud, a better grasp of the impact of their writing might be forthcoming. Britain's Got Talent for comms ...