SUNDAY LINEUP --- WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? Communication Issues, Skills and Techniques AUTHOR:  Marie Davis, IDG Trainer/Speaker

Over the last two weeks, we’ve looked at the first three journalism questions.  Today, we’re going to look at the “where” and “how” aspects.

Where?

• Where does the reader do his work?
  Is the reader sitting at a desk, working at a machine, standing on a shop floor, walking around the office or out on the road?
• Where are they located in the hierarchy of the company?
  People in the higher echelons of the company may not want all the detail a person at a lower level might want.  They tend to be “big ...
...

SUNDAY LINEUP --- WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? Communication Issues, Skills and Techniques AUTHOR:  Marie Davis, IDG Trainer/Speaker

Last week, we looked at the “Who” question.  This week, I’m going to provide questions to help you answer the “what” and “when” aspects.

What?

• What does the reader need to know?
• What does the reader already know?
• What else does the reader want to know?
  This often speaks to the reader’s personality style.  Using the four “standard” styles, there are two that really don’t want the details; there is one that absolutely wants every detail you could imagine (and then some); and ...
...

SUNDAY LINEUP --- WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? Communication Issues, Skills and Techniques AUTHOR:  Marie Davis, IDG Trainer/Speaker

Who’s Your Reader?, Part 1

The six journalism questions – the questions every good reporter is taught to answer in a story – will give you great deal of information about your reader and help you position your document, whether it’s an email, a letter, a report, a proposal or just a quick note.

The six questions are:

• Who?
• What?
• When?
• Where?
• How?
• Why?

In this article, I’m going to give you some things to consider to help you answer the “who” question.

Who?  Who is the reader?

Knowing the person ...

SUNDAY LINEUP --- WHOSE LINE IS IT ANYWAY? Communication Issues, Skills and Techniques AUTHOR:  Marie Davis, IDG Trainer/Speaker

There are a number of tools and techniques you can use to persuade your reader.  The most important is to ask yourself “What would I think/feel/perceive if I read this message not knowing my point of view?

In my classes, I use this example:

If you wrote my company asking for a refund, which of these two responses from me would you like better?

a.     We require that you come into the store with a valid, signed sales receipt before we can process a refund.
          &...