I was recently reading the book ‘The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Clear Thinking’ looking for information on learning:

In the process of reading it, I ran across the following “Rules for Making Your Case in Written Form”:

• “Remember that you’re not speaking face-to-face”
• “In e-mails and memos, make sure your subject line accurately conveys what will follow”
• “Avoid mixing personal with professional written communications”
• “Keep private matters separate from public ones”
• “In the e-mail world, observe netiquette”
• “Take the high road”

All of these are very good things to keep in mind, but to me the first is the most important. Remember, you’d NOT speaking face-to-face. Body language, facial expressions, and voice inflections aren’t present in your writing. Different authorities quote different numbers, but most of any communication happens through one of these modes. When ALL you have is the content, you’re handicapping yourself.

Even worse is that you’re not there to explain or answer questions when someone reads what you’ve written. Whatever you’ve written has to stand on its own. Once it leaves your computer or typewriter or notepad, whatever you’ve written takes on a life of its own. People who read it will bring their own experience and knowledge to interpreting what you’ve written, so you must be sure that you’re really saying what you MEAN in the clearest possible terms.

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