Think you're a good writer? You may very well be, but writing for successful online communication requires a few slight adjustments to your approach. Here are some suggestions for enhanced communication through online formats like email and discussion forums.
* Keep it simple.Readers often sort through email quickly, so keep your messages simple. Try not to include more than one major subject per email. If you have several topics to discuss, break them up into several messages. Otherwise, the last part of your message may get lost between the scrollbars.
* Write descriptive subject lines. Some people receive so much email that they begin to delete some messages without viewing them. To avoid this fate, make sure your subject lines are descriptive. Messages with titles like "Hello" or "Need Information" will get lost. If you can't think of a good subject line, a good trick for drawing people in is to start your message in the title: "I was thinking about you today, and ..." Then continue your sentence in the body of the message.
* Give the reader some context to avoid misunderstandings. Email is infamous for causing misunderstandings. The receiver may not understand that the sender is joking, serious, or just tired. Advice can sound preachy and minor frustration can sound like major anger. This is because all of the context of body language, tone, and setting are lost in online messages. Add them back in to avoid problems. Briefly describe your mood at the start of a message. State directly what result you hope to get from the communication.
* Use writing tricks like "emoticons," acronyms, and extra punctuation judiciously Online communication has spawned a whole school of trick you can use to look extra clever ;-) (an "emoticon") and get your message across to listeners. IMHO (in my humble opinion) is a typical acronym. However, the best advice is to use plain English unless you are certain your reader knows emoticons and understands your acronyms.
* Don't use all caps. There are better ways to emphasize. ONLINE, THIS IS SHOUTING. DON'T SEND MESSAGES THIS WAY UNLESS YOU ARE ANGRY. Instead, if you want to emphasize, *try something like this*. You can make the Big Point in more (pssst... over here) subtle ways.
* Reread your message before you send it. This is especially true if you are sending any sensitive content. Try to read the message from the point of view of your intended receiver and see if there is anything they won't understand. Or even better...
* Compose your message in a word processor, save it, then copy and paste it into the message box. This will give you a chance to review the content carefully and even better, spell check! If the message is important, or if you think you might not be able to remember what you wrote, save it or print it as well. You'll have an archive of messages that you can scan for reminders or re-use as the basis of other messages.
* Use pronouns effectively. Have you ever received a message such as "I will check it out and let you know before we respond." Who is I? What is it? Is "you" one person or many? Are you included in "we" or is this somebody else? That was an extreme example, but pronouns which don't refer clearly are a big problem in online communication. Weed them out of
* Keep it simple.Readers often sort through email quickly, so keep your messages simple. Try not to include more than one major subject per email. If you have several topics to discuss, break them up into several messages. Otherwise, the last part of your message may get lost between the scrollbars.
* Write descriptive subject lines. Some people receive so much email that they begin to delete some messages without viewing them. To avoid this fate, make sure your subject lines are descriptive. Messages with titles like "Hello" or "Need Information" will get lost. If you can't think of a good subject line, a good trick for drawing people in is to start your message in the title: "I was thinking about you today, and ..." Then continue your sentence in the body of the message.
* Give the reader some context to avoid misunderstandings. Email is infamous for causing misunderstandings. The receiver may not understand that the sender is joking, serious, or just tired. Advice can sound preachy and minor frustration can sound like major anger. This is because all of the context of body language, tone, and setting are lost in online messages. Add them back in to avoid problems. Briefly describe your mood at the start of a message. State directly what result you hope to get from the communication.
* Use writing tricks like "emoticons," acronyms, and extra punctuation judiciously Online communication has spawned a whole school of trick you can use to look extra clever ;-) (an "emoticon") and get your message across to listeners. IMHO (in my humble opinion) is a typical acronym. However, the best advice is to use plain English unless you are certain your reader knows emoticons and understands your acronyms.
* Don't use all caps. There are better ways to emphasize. ONLINE, THIS IS SHOUTING. DON'T SEND MESSAGES THIS WAY UNLESS YOU ARE ANGRY. Instead, if you want to emphasize, *try something like this*. You can make the Big Point in more (pssst... over here) subtle ways.
* Reread your message before you send it. This is especially true if you are sending any sensitive content. Try to read the message from the point of view of your intended receiver and see if there is anything they won't understand. Or even better...
* Compose your message in a word processor, save it, then copy and paste it into the message box. This will give you a chance to review the content carefully and even better, spell check! If the message is important, or if you think you might not be able to remember what you wrote, save it or print it as well. You'll have an archive of messages that you can scan for reminders or re-use as the basis of other messages.
* Use pronouns effectively. Have you ever received a message such as "I will check it out and let you know before we respond." Who is I? What is it? Is "you" one person or many? Are you included in "we" or is this somebody else? That was an extreme example, but pronouns which don't refer clearly are a big problem in online communication. Weed them out of
