|
|
Tools of the Trade
A Monthly Guide to Communicating Effectively at Work
|
|
|
|
|
Dear Melanie,
Welcome
to the February edition of Write It Well's newsletter. Each month we'll
offer you our time-tested tools and strategies that will make writing
at work easier. Feel free to forward this to friends and co-workers who
are also interested in learning to write more efficiently.
Best Wishes,
Natasha
|
Read Me!
Subject Lines: The Key To Getting Your Readers' Attention
by Melanie Wise, Director of Services
|
| |
 You might be wondering: What's the big deal with subject lines?
Well,
consider them from your recipient's point of view. It's Tuesday
morning. Your recipient (let's call her Sue) was out Monday with a
nasty cold, so her messages piled up. Yours is just one of twenty-five
that she must scan, prioritize and respond to. If the subject line
doesn't catch Sue's attention, she's likely to skip your message or
even delete it. Our research shows that a well-crafted subject line is
key to getting your message opened and read.
If you want Sue or any other recipient to open your message, follow these guidelines:
1. Make them compelling, specific and descriptive.
Instead
of relying on the priority flag or the word "URGENT" to get your
readers' attention, try crafting a specific, descriptive, subject line.
Imagine you need immediate feedback on a report you're writing. You've
written a message to a co-worker who is working off-site. Look at these
two subject lines. Which do you think will get your co-worker's
feedback quickly?
A) Report, URGENT
B) Please review the ALTAC report by noon
If I were your co-worker, I'd be more likely to respond to B. It tells me exactly what you need and when you need it.
2. Edit the subject line when the body of the message changes.
If
the text of an e-mail message and its subject line don't match, then
your recipients may not read the message right away (even if it's
important). And, why should they? You haven't let them know what the
message is about.
The information in the message will also be
much harder to find later on. Imagine your recipients need to find the
time and place of a meeting, but those details are buried in the text
of a message they received last week with a subject line that reads:
"Funding Proposal." How will they find the information? When the
message and the subject line don't match, information gets lost.
For more tips on how to use e-mail effectively, read our book, Email: A Write It Well Guide.
What's New at Write It Well
Layoffs!
No, thankfully we're not laying anyone off and we hope all of you are
secure in your jobs too. But for those tasked with the very difficult
job of laying off staff, we've developed an e-learning application that
teaches managers how to conduct layoff interviews successfully.
Poorly planned and delivered layoff interviews can leave companies
vulnerable to lawsuits and cause morale to plummet. Take a minute to preview this essential training tool.
Training That Gets Results!
Ever
wonder if writing skills training really pays off? Well it does. Read
about one of our successful blended learning programs in this case study.
Just a Bit About Us
Write It Well was founded in 1980 to help people in the workplace
communicate clearly and work together effectively. We develop and
deliver online and on-site programs, publish a line of popular business
writing texts and facilitator kits, and provide writing and editing
services for organizations large and small.
|
|
|
|
Natasha Terk, President
Write It Well
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
