Al Ries and Jack Trout co-authored a classic marketing book, Positioning, more than 25 years ago. The book’s ideas contain many applications for writing, and I often refer to them in my workshops.

The book got a rewrite a few years ago, but the message remained the same. The most important idea, with the greatest impact on writing success, is this: The Laws of Primacy and Recency.

Simply stated, people remember best what they read first (the Law of Primacy) and what they read last (the Law of Recency).

A FACT ABOUT BUSINESS WRITING: You have from 5 to 15 seconds to grab your reader’s attention, and to get that person to read the document you have worked so hard to create. Think about your own experience—those times you have returned to the office after a few days away, to find yourself overwhelmed with printed, written and electronic communication. None of us takes long to decide what we will read, in what priority, or (in some cases) even IF you’ll read some of it.

How do we decide? (How does your reader decide?) We look at the overall appearance of the document. If it looks attractive, neat and professional, we then read the subject line or the first sentence. If those first few words grab our attention, we keep reading.

That’s the Law of Primacy at work. Not only do those first few words determine whether your reader continues, they also represent your opportunity to “position” your most important idea, thought, fact or statement.

IT DOESN’T MAKE MUCH SENSE, then, to begin a written document with “How are you?” or with throwaway phrases like “The purpose of this memo is to…” or “I would like tell you that…” or “Please be advised that…” What’s the most important thing you want your reader to know? “Position” that idea at the very beginning. It gets attention, ensures continued reading; and your readers are likely to recall it after they have finished reading, too.

An idea about the opening sentence: Write it last. It’s difficult to begin writing with your best sentence right away. The step of writing I call freewriting makes this concern unnecessary. Write all you can, as fast as you can. Don’t worry about editing as you go (that’s another topic for another newsletter!). Now, go back and identify your most important point, and put it at the beginning. Take advantage of the Law of Primacy.

DON’T BACK INTO YOUR MAIN POINT, EITHER. What does the reader want? Or, what do you want the reader to do? Put it first. “Inclusion of your ZIP code will expedite delivery.” I suggest your reader doesn’t care about a ZIP code. Your reader wants…what? Fast delivery. “For fastest delivery, please include your ZIP code.”

I believe people sometimes only read the first half of a sentence, or the first clause in a compound sentence. “Please remit your payment so that service will not be interrupted.” Can you see the reader bailing out after “Please remit your payment”? So do I. What does the reader want? Uninterrupted service. “For uninterrupted service, please pay your bill.”

OK. On to the next point, the Law of Recency. Most of us “get” the Law of Primacy part. But we act as if the last thing someone reads doesn’t really matter. What is the last idea you want to communicate? What do you want to remain with your readers after they put your document away? POSITION it at the end of your document for maximum impact.

• Ask for the order: “When can we schedule Business Writing Solutions in your organization?”
• Communicate the deadline: “Please send your revisions not later than September 18.”
• Define the next step: “Let’s meet together to determine the people we want to work with us on this project.”
• Leave information you want to remain with the reader: “If your behavior doesn’t change, we will take additional disciplinary action.”

Notice none of these suggestions involve the over-used (and, in my opinion, almost worthless) last sentence of many a business document: “If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me.” I’ll let you figure out why I hate that sentence, and why I consider its message worthless!

One exception to the Law of Recency: Don’t worry about it in an e-mail message. If the message runs longer than a single screen (and who knows how large that “single screen” is on your reader’s instrument), you have no guarantee the reader will even see the final sentence.

Instead, pack all the critical information right at the beginning of the message. Don’t forget the importance of a short, clear and interesting Subject line, either. We all delete e-mail unopened based on the sender and the subject!

SEVEN YEARS AND COUNTING…

This issue begins the eighth year of Toward Better Business Writing! A number of readers have been “on board” all this time; for others, this may be your first issue of many. Seven years takes us back to the first of September, 2001…a VERY different time in our world, to be sure.

I hope these ideas have improved your business writing skills. I hope they have made the process easier for you, and helped you write with more confidence and success. I hope they caused you to smile once in a while, too. Thanks to all who take the time to write after receiving this monthly communication to thank me, or to comment of some of the points I make. I read them all, and enjoy hearing from you! We all need encouragement.

One of the main purposes of this newsletter is to remind you about my two-day seminar, Business Writing Solutions. Please write or call if you would like to schedule this program for your organization. For a self-directed CD-ROM version of the course, visit http://businesswritingsolutions.com/products-cdroms.htm to learn more about it and to order it online.

&%$#@!* TYPOS!

One of the “Proofreading Proverbs” in my seminar workbook says, “People in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.” Translation: Beware of material related to proofreading and accuracy, because it MUST be perfect!

Thankfully, I have many readers who voluntarily serve as my “extra” set of eyes for this newsletter. They are so kind to remind me (after the fact, of course) of things that escaped my detection…but not theirs. We have a good time with that, of course…after I have personally let loose my own string of &%$#@!*s.

Sometimes I claim it’s not my fault. I honestly did not intend to put an uncomfortable space in the middle of farther a few issues ago; and I have my own saved copy of what I sent, proving it wasn’t there when I mailed it out.

Other times, I plead guilty. Last issue’s “problem” was particularly annoying and perplexing. I referred to a book, and then said, “It’s author…” This is NOT a mistake I make. I talk about possessive pronouns every day in the grammar and usage section of my class, reminding people they do not contain an apostrophe. And then, there it is.

Naturally, this one cost me big time with some of my loyal readership, who have had a wonderful laugh at my expense. I still don’t know how it happened, but it did. I suspect I began to write the sentence in a certain way, then changed my mind in the middle of the sentence and didn’t go back to fix the incorrect spelling later. The more I try, the worse my excuse sounds. Sorry.

Anyway, thanks to those who keep me on my toes, and remind me of my indiscretions. Sometimes I tell you I left a few mistakes in the newsletter to see if you are reading it. If you believe that, then I must share a great deal involving Bill Gates, Microsoft, and lots of FREE MONEY just for forwarding e-mail around to all your friends! What can I say?

&%$#@!*

Yours for better business writing,

Jonathan Clark