Effective Written
Communication
Heather Plett
www.heatherplett.com
session #3
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Check-in. How have you been since we
last met?
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Stretching Exercise
• Verbs are very important. They are the action
and energy of a sentence. Be aware of how you
use them. Try this exercise:
• Fold a sheet of paper in half the long way. On the le&
side of the page list ten nouns. Any ten. (eg. lilacs,
horse, muscles, dinosaur, fiddles etc.)
• Now think of an occupation, for example, a carpenter,
doctor, flight attendant. On the other side of the
page, list fi&een verbs on the right half of the page
that go with that position. (eg. A cook: saute, chop,
mince, slice, cut, etc.)
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Stretching Exercise
(cont’d)
• Open the page. You have nouns listed on the
le& and verbs on the right. Try joining the
nouns with the verbs to see what new
combinations you can get, and then finish the
sentences, casting the verbs in the past tense
if you need to. (eg. Dinosaurs marinate in the
earth. The fiddles boiled the air with their
music. The lilacs sliced the sky into purple.)
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Organizing Emails &
Memos (page 87)
• Subject line for your email:
•
•
stay away from meaningless or dangerous words
•
•
•
including a word such as “free” may trigger spam filters
•
it need not be a complete sentence, nor does it end
with a period
avoid one-world headings such as “issue, important,
problem, or help”
try to make your subject line “talk” by including a verb
explain the purpose of the message and how it relates
to the reader
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Email subject lines
(page 87)
Poor subject line
Trade show
Staff meeting
Important!
Improved subject line
Need You to Showcase
Two Items at Our Next
Trade Show
Rescheduling Staff
Meeting for 1 p.m. on
May 12
Please respond to Job
Satisfaction Survey
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Body of the email
• Open with the main idea
• Explain the main idea in the body
• Use bulleted lists, headings, etc. to help
improve readability
• Close with a purpose - action
information, dates, deadlines, summary
of the message, or a closing thought
• (see sample on page 88)
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Message openers
• Which is stronger? Why?
• Employees interested in improving their
writing and communication skills are invited
to a training program beginning October 4.
• For the past year we have been
investigating the possibility of developing a
communication skills training program for
some of our employees.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Message openers
• Which is stronger? Why?
• Some customer representatives in the field
have suggested that they would like to enter
their reports from the field instead of coming
back to the office to enter them in their
computers. That’s why we have made a number
of changes. We would like you to use the
following procedures.
• Customer representatives may now enter their
field reports using the following procedures.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Improve email readability
with listing techniques (page 97)
• make listed items parallel - related to
the same topic and balanced
grammatically
• use bullets, numbers, or letters
appropriately
• use generally accepted punctuation
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Effective Writing
Strategies
• Use short words
• eg. “During the preceding year the company
operated at a financial deficit.”
• could be “Last year the company lost
money”
• Use technical words & acronyms with
caution.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Concrete Language
Abstract
A significant loss
The leading company
The majority
In the near future
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
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Sunday, 9 December, 12
Concrete Language
Abstract
Specific
A significant loss
A 53 percent loss
The leading company
First among 3,212 competitors
The majority
62 percent
In the near future
By noon Thursday
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Effective Sentences
(page 59)
• Complete sentences have subjects and verbs
and make sense.
• eg. This report is clear and concise.
• Clauses and phrases, the building blocks of
sentences, are related groups of words.
Phrases don’t have subjects and verbs, while
clauses do.
• eg. The CEO of that organization sent a letter to
our staff.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Effective Sentences
• Clauses can be divided into two groups:
independent and dependent.
• Independent clauses are grammatically
complete, while dependent clauses depend
for their meaning on independent clauses.
• Because she writes well, Tracy answers most
customer letters.
• When she writes to customers, Naomi uses
straightforward language.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Sentence Fragment
(page 60)
• A fragment is a broken-off part of a sentence that
is missing either a subject or a verb.
•
FRAGMENT: Because most transactions require a
permanent record. Good writing skills are critical.
•
REVISION: Because most transactions require a
permanent record, good writing skills are critical.
•
FRAGMENT: The interviewer requested a writing
sample. Even though the candidate seemed to
communicate well.
•
REVISION: The interviewer requested a writing sample,
even though the candidate seemed to communicate
well.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Run-on Sentence
(page 60)
• A sentence with two independent clauses must be
joined by a coordinating conjunction (and, or,
not, but) or by a semicolon (;). Without a
conjunction or a semicolon the result is a run-on
sentence.
•
RUN-ON: Some employers still prefer to see a printed
résumé a growing number specify that only electronic
résumés can be submitted.
•
REVISION: Some employees still prefer to see a printed
résumé, but a growing number specify that only
electronic résumés can be submitted.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Sentence Length
(page 61)
• Because your goal is to communicate clearly,
you’re better off limiting your sentences to 20
or fewer words.
Sentence Length
8 words
15 words
19 words
28 words
Comprehension Rate
100%
90%
80%
50%
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Active/Passive
• In an ACTIVE sentence, the subject is
doing the action. Example: “Steve loves
Amy.” Steve is the subject, and he is
doing the action: he loves Amy, the
object of the sentence.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Active/Passive
• In PASSIVE voice, the target of the
action gets promoted to the subject
position. Instead of saying, “Steve loves
Amy,” I would say, “Amy is loved by
Steve.” The subject of the sentence
becomes Amy, but she isn’t doing
anything. Rather, she is just the
recipient of Steve’s love.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Active vs. Passive
• “There are over 300 customers served by our help desk
each day. The help desk personnel’s main tasks are to
answer questions, solve problems, and educate the
callers about the so&ware. Without their expert work,
our customer satisfaction ratings would be much lower
than the are.”
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Active vs. Passive
• “There are over 300 customers served by our help desk
each day. The help desk personnel’s main tasks are to
answer questions, solve problems, and educate the
callers about the so&ware. Without their expert work,
our customer satisfaction ratings would be much lower
than the are.”
“Our help desk personnel serve over 300 customers
each day. They answer questions, solve problems,
and educate the users about the so&ware. Without
their expert work, our customer satisfaction ratings
would drop significantly.”
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Passive/Active
Passive
The results were reported
in our July 9 letter.
This policy has been
supported by our union.
The office will be
inspected by Mr. Hall.
Hardware sales were
increased 30 percent by
the latest promotion.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Passive/Active
Passive
Active
The results were reported
in our July 9 letter.
We reported the results in our
July 9 letter.
This policy has been
supported by our union.
Our union supported the
policy.
The office will be
inspected by Mr. Hall.
Mr. Hall will inspect the office.
Hardware sales were
increased 30 percent by
the latest promotion.
The latest promotion increased
hardware sales by 30 percent.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Are these sentences
active or passive?
• The lunch room was inspected by the health
department.
• A tornado destroyed my home town.
• A total of 15 complaints have been received by the
complaint department this week.
• The desired colour was not specified in your
order.
• The executive director called a meeting yesterday
to discuss next year’s plans.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Avoid discriminatory
wording
• use gender-neutral words (eg.
chairperson instead of chairman)
• avoid words that stereotype by race,
nationality, or sexual orientation
• avoid words that stereotype by age
• avoid words that typecast those
with disabilities
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Select words for Precise
Meaning
• Be sensitive to connotation.
• eg. tycoon, industry giant, successful
entrepreneur, prominent business executive
• Do not confuse similar words
• eg. affect = to influence, effect = to bring to
pass
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Using correct idioms
Idiom: word combinations that have become
standard in a language
Faulty Idiom
authority about
comply to
different than
get a feel on
equally as bad
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Using correct idioms
Idiom: word combinations that have become
standard in a language
Faulty Idiom
Correct Idiom
authority about
authority on
comply to
comply with
different than
different from
get a feel on
equally as bad
get a feel for
equally bad
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Writing clear sentences
•
Too much content:
•
“Some authorities in human resources object to expanding normal
salary ranges to include a trainee rate because they fear that through
oversight or prejudice, probationers may be kept at the minimum
rate longer than is warranted and because they fear that it would
encourage the spread from the minimum to maximum rate range.”
• Better:
•
“Some authorities in human resources object to expanding the normal
salary range to include a training rate, for two reasons. First, they fear that
through oversight or prejudice, probationers may be kept at the minimum
rate longer than is warranted. Second, they fear that expansion would
increase the spread between the minimum and the maximum rate range.”
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Outdated Expressions
Outdated
Modern
are in receipt of
have received
as per your request
at your request
attached hereto
attached
enclosed please find
enclosed is/are
pursuant to your request
at your request
thanking you in advance
thank you
I trust that
I think, I believe
under separate cover
separately
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Concise Wording
(page 62)
Wordy
Concise
at a later date
later
at this point in time
now
affford an opportunity
allow
are of the opinion that
believe, think that
despite the fact that
though
during the time
while
feel free to
please
in addition to the above
also
in the event of
if
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Wordy Prepositional
Phrases
(page 63)
• Replace wordy prepositional phrases with
a single adverb.
• WORDY: DCI approached the manner in a
careful manner.
• CONCISE: DCI approached the manner
carefully.
• WORDY: The merger will in all probability be
effected.
• CONCISE: The merger will probably be effected.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Needless adverbs
•
Streamline your writing by eliminating intensifying
adverbs such as very, definitely, quite, completely,
extremely, actually, and rather. This generally makes you
sound more credible and businesslike.
•
Instead of needles adverbs, try to improve your verb.
•
WORDY: We actually did not really give his plan a very fair
trial.
•
•
CONCISE: We did not give his plan a fair trial.
•
CONCISE: Professor Anna Pictou offers a fine course that
students appreciate.
WORDY: Professor Anna Pictou offers an extremely fine course
that students definitely appreciate.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Stretching Exercise what NOT to do
• In a small group (2-4), come up with
all of the jargon, clichés, buzzwords,
run-on sentences, passive language,
etc. you can think of.
• Write the most convoluted
instructions to your staff about an
upcoming meeting you’re holding
and why they should be there. (You
can make up the purpose of the
meeting.)
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Needless adverbs, fillers &
repetitious words
• Revise the following to eliminate needless words:
•
It is web-based technology that is really streamlining
administrative processes and reducing business costs for
businesses.
•
It is certainly clear that there are many younger managers
who are very eager but who are actually unprepared to
assume management or leadership roles.
•
There are four employees who definitely spend more time
in internet recreational use on the internet than they
spend on business-related internet work.
•
There are definitely five advantages that computers have
over a human decision maker.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Precise Verbs
(page 67)
• Effective writing means meaningful images in the
mind of the reader.
• Precise verbs describe action in a way that is
understandable for the reader.
•
•
•
•
•
•
GENERAL: Our salesperson will contact you next week.
PRECISE: Our salesperson will phone you next week.
GENERAL: The CEO said that we should contribute.
PRECISE: The CEO urged us to contribute.
GENERAL: The newspaper was affected by the strike.
PRECISE: The newspaper was crippled by the strike.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Avoid verbs camouflaged
as nouns
Weak Camouflaged Verb
Strong Clear Verb Form
An arrangement was made to
meet for breakfast.
We arranged to meet for
breakfast.
Amortization of the account
was effected by the staff
The new policy involved the
standardization of the
procedures.
We must bring about a
reconciliation of our
differences.
The staff amortized the
account.
The new policy standardized
the procedures.
We must reconcile our
differences.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Precise Verbs
• Revise these sentences, centring the action
in the verbs.
• The webmaster made a description of the project.
• Can you bring about a change in our company
travel policy?
• Web-based customer service will produce the
effect of reduction in overall costs.
• In writing this proposal, we must make
application of new government regulations.
• The board of directors made a recommendation
affirming abandonment of the pilot project.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Concrete Nouns
(page 68)
• Abstract nouns name concepts that are difficult
to visualize, such as automation, function,
justice, institution, integrity, form, judgement,
and environment.
• Concrete nouns name objects that are more
easily imagined, such as desk, car, and light bulb.
•
•
•
•
GENERAL: A change in our budget
CONCRETE: A 10 percent reduction in our budget
GENERAL: That company’s product
CONCRETE: Motorola’s Minotor V pager
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Vivid Adjectives
(page 68)
• Including highly descriptive, dynamic
adjectives makes writing more vivid and
concrete.
• GENERAL: The report was on time.
• VIVID: The detailed 12 page report was
submitted on time.
• GENERAL: Clayton needs a better truck.
• VIVID: Clayton needs a rugged, four-wheeldrive Dodge truck.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Vivid words
• Revise the following sentences to
include vivid and concrete language.
• Our new copier is fast.
• Please contact them soon.
• They said that the movie they saw was good.
• Workers improved when they saw the big
picture.
• The report was weak.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Surplus words
Contains Surplus Words
Eliminates Surplus Words
There are four rules that should
be observed.
Four rules should be observed.
The machines that were
damaged by the fire were
repaired.
The machines damaged by the
fire were repaired.
By the examining of production
records, they found the error.
By examining production records,
they found the error.
The president is of the opinion
that the tax was paid.
The president believes the tax
was paid.
It is essential that the income be
used to retire the debt.
The income must be used to
retire the debt.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Avoid needless repetition
Needless Repetition
Repetition Eliminated
Please endorse your name on the
back of this check.
Please endorse this check.
We must assemble together at 10:30
We must assemble at 10:30 a.m.
a.m. in the morning.
One should know the basic
fundamentals of clear writing.
One should know the fundamentals
of clear writing.
The consensus of opinion is that the The consensus is that the tax is
tax is unfair.
unfair.
It is essential that the income be
used to retire the debt.
The income must be used to
retire the debt.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Writing Exercise
• Revise the following sentences to eliminate wordy
phrases, outdated expressions, and long lead-ins.
•
In the event that the response is at all favourable, we
will in all probability start our Web site in the month of
January.
•
This is to advise you that beginning with the date of
April 1 all charges made a&er that date will be charged to
your new credit card.
•
Pursuant to your request, enclosed please find a copy of
your August statement.
•
In view of the fact that our sales are increasing in a
gradual manner, we must secure a loan in the amount of
$50,000.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Determine emphasis
in sentence design
• Three options, different emphasis:
• “The company lost money last year. The loss
occurred in spite of record sales.”
• “Although the company enjoyed record sales
last year, it lost money.”
• “Although the company lost money last
year, it enjoyed record sales.”
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Give the sentences unity
• If unrelated ideas are together in a sentence, they
need a reason for being together. eg. “Mr. Jordan
is our sales manager, and he has a degree in law.”
• To give unity to a sentence:
• put the ideas in separate sentences
• “Mr. Jordan is our sales manager. He has a law degree.”
• make one idea subordinate to another
• “Mr. Jordan, our sales manager, has a law degree.”
• add words that show the relation between the ideas.
•
“Although Mr. Jordan pursued a law degree in college, he
enjoys sales and became our sales manager.”
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Avoid excessive detail
• “Our New York offices, considered plush in the
1990s but now badly in need of renovation, as
is the case with most offices that have not
been maintained, have been abandoned.”
• “Considered plush in the 1990s, our New York
offices have not been maintained properly.
Because the repairs would have been too costly,
we have abandoned them.”
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Mixed Construction
Mixed Construction
Improved
First we found less expensive
First we found less expensive
material, and then we developed a
material, and then a more
economical means of production was more economical means of
developed.
production.
Consumers should read nutrition
The consumer should read the
nutrition label, but you o&en don’t labels, but they o&en don’t take the
take the time to do it.
time to do so.
I completed my education in 2008
My education was completed in
2008, and then I began work as a
and then began work as a manager
manager for Home Depot.
for Home Depot.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Incomplete construction
• “She was so happy with the retirement
party we gave her.”
• she was so happy... that what? (remove so,
or complete the construction)
• “As far as time management, he is a
master of multitasking.”
• either “As far as time management goes...” or
“As for time management, he is a master...”
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Faulty Parallelism
“They show their community spirit through
yearly donations to the United Way, giving
free materials to Habitat for Humanity, and
their employees volunteer at local schools.”
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Faulty Parallelism
“They show their community spirit through
yearly donations to the United Way, giving
free materials to Habitat for Humanity, and
their employees volunteer at local schools.”
“They show their community spirit by donating
yearly to the United Way, giving free materials
to Habitat for Humanity, and volunteering at
local schools.”
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Stretching exercise
• Divide into groups of 4
• Each group takes a bag of Lego.
• Splitting into 2 teams, one team builds
something out of the Lego (hiding it
from the other team) and then writes
instructions explaining how to build it.
• The other team tries to build the same
structure based only on the instructions.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Writing Instructions
• Remember your audience - How much do they
know? Is English their first language? Etc.
• Consistency - eg. use the same names for
things, use numbers for chronological order,
etc.
• Diagrams & Illustrations - clear up ambiguity
by diagraming/illustrating
• Usability testing - ask someone to test the
instructions for you
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Tips for writing
Instructions
•
Create a title that explains what the instructions are, ie.
“How to...”
•
Use action verbs at the beginning of sentence, ie. “Pick
up, take, click, etc.”
•
•
•
•
Use short clear sentences with words that are common.
•
Be specific.
Use a numbered list when the order is important.
Avoid words with more than one meaning.
Make sure to include any cautions, warnings, or
dangers.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Instructions
Instead of this:
Here are the
instructions for
operating the copy
machine. First, you
insert your copy card in
the slot. Then you load
the paper in the upper
tray. Last, copies are fed
through the feed tray.
Try this:
Follow these steps to
use the copy machine:
1. Insert your copy card
in the slot.
2. Load paper in the
upper tray.
3. Feed copies through
the feed tray.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Writing clear paragraphs
• Paragraph structures provide a map for
your ideas, guiding readers through
your reasoning.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Clear paragraphs
•
•
Use topic sentences.
•
State the central idea of each paragraph explicitly in a topic
sentence.
The body of a paragraph develops and demonstrates
what your topic sentences state. Here are some
common patterns:
•
Explain more fully what you mean, giving definitions or
indicating distinctions.
•
Offer details, examples, or relevant quotations (with your
comments).
•
Follow through a logical sequence, showing the connections
among your ideas in a recognizable pattern such as cause and
effect or comparison and contrast.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Clear paragraphs
• Be sure your intended logic is clear.
• O&en the simplest words do the most to pull
together ideas. Pronouns such as “it” and
“they” and “this” keep the focus on the ideas
announced at the beginning of the paragraph
—as long as they are clearly linked to specific
nouns.
• Deliberate repetition of key words also helps.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Clear paragraphs
•
Certain specialized linking words can also be powerful
tools for pulling ideas together. But don’t just sprinkle
them into your sentences-- use them to support your
logic. Here are some examples
•
To signal a reinforcement of ideas:
•
•
•
also, in other words, in addition, for example, moreover,
more importantly
To signal a change in ideas:
•
but, on the other hand, however, instead, yet, in contrast,
although, nevertheless, in spite of [something]
To signal a conclusion:
•
thus, therefore, accordingly, in conclusion, finally, so
[informal]
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Writing clear paragraphs
• Give paragraphs unity (eg. if a sentence
does not support the goal of paragraph,
it shouldn’t be there)
• Keep paragraphs short (eg. for longer
papers, an average length of 8 lines)
• Leave out unnecessary detail
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Storytelling in business
communication
•
There’s no doubt that stories can change the way we think,
act, and feel.
•
Leaders, especially, can use the power of a good story to
influence and motivate their teams to new heights.
•
•
Stories can inspire everything from understanding to action.
•
Stories can capture our imaginations and make things real in
a way that cold, hard facts can’t.
They can create legends that an entire workplace culture can
build upon, and they have the power to break down barriers
and turn a bad situation into a good one.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Stories that impact change
•
“Who I Am” Stories - tell about your flaws and humanity - to
build trust and approachability
•
“Why I’m Here” Stories - replace suspicion with trust, and
help people realize that you don’t have any hidden agendas
•
Teaching Stories - to make a lesson clear and to help people
remember why they’re doing something in the first place
•
Vision Stories - to inspire hope, especially when people need
reminders of why they’re doing what they should be doing
•
“Values in Action” Stories - If you want to pass on values to
people, start by defining what those values mean to you
•
“I Know What You’re Thinking” Stories - show respect for
the other point of view
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Why is story important?
“In order to learn about
influence we must leave the
comfort of models, linear
sequences, and step-by-step
recipes. The magic of influence
is less in what we say and more
in how we say it and who we
are.”
- Annette Simmons
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Story
“Story is the fundamental
instrument of thought. Rational
capacities depend on it. It is our
chief means of looking into the
future, of predicting, of planning,
and of explaining... Most of our
experience, our knowledge and
our thinking is organized as story.”
- Mark Turner (cognitive
scientist), The Literary Mind
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Story
“The story - from
Rumplestiltskin to War and
Peace - is one of the basic
tools invented by the human
mind for the purpose of
understanding. There have
been great societies that did
not use the wheel, but there
have been no societies that
did not tell stories.”
- Ursula K. Le Guin
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Story
“When facts become so
widely available and
instantly accessible (ie. via
the internet), each one
becomes less valuable. What
begins to matter more is the
ability to place these facts in
context and to deliver them
with emotional impact.”
- Daniel Pink, A Whole New
Mind
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
About story...
• Story is not the gospel truth, but it is
OUR truth.
• Story helps us define ourselves and our
businesses in relevant ways.
• Story is one of the most valuable tools
to influence & inspire.
• Story is less empirical and more open to
interpretation.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
About story... (cont’d)
• It’s easier for readers/clients/participants to
see themselves in story than in a set of
facts.
• Stories build community and trust.
• Story helps us attach meaning and value to
events, objects, etc.
• We have a much better memory for story
than we do for facts or statistics.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Tips for using story in
your communication
• Be authentic
• Pay attention to your audience
• Practice
• Create an experience
• Show, don’t tell
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
How do we receive
story?
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Story as a tool for
influence
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Discussion
• How have you seen stories used to
teach people things, or to convince us
to buy things?
• How does storytelling play a role in
human resource management?
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12
Stretching Exercise
• Share a story of one of the
following with a classmate:
•
•
a favourite childhood memory
a time when someone did
something nice for you
• Ask each other pertinent
questions about the story.
• Write your classmate’s story.
H eather Plett
sharing stories, wisdom & courage
www.heatherplett.com
Sunday, 9 December, 12