Communications Strategy

The dangers of shorthand

Has this ever happened to you?

 

A cardinal rule of messaging is that you have to repeat, repeat, repeat your messages, and then repeat them some more.

 

Problem is, it’s easy (at least for me) to get bored with the repetition. Then I fall into talking in shorthand.

 

That happened to me a few months ago.

 

I wrote a news release for a long-time client, whose story I know inside and out. The release required enough background to put the news we were announcing in context but not so much that we’d have to explain the long, complicated process that led up to it.

 

When I write a release for local and regional media, I try to make it a self-contained story so smaller outlets can run it as is.

 

And, indeed, that's happened with this release. It got good pick-up as we’d hoped, but some of the stories missed the same key point.

 

My first reaction was to blame the outlets.

 

But then it dawned on me: I’d left out the needed information because I’d gotten bored with the retelling and unconsciously resorted to shorthand.

 

To be fair, it was a complicated situation and, in the bigger picture, I don’t think the omission affected the overall story. 

 

But I was lucky this time. 

 

It was a good reminder to stay alert because there are other ways we talk shorthand. Think acronyms; jargon; in-house, technical or industry language; or assuming our audience knows as much as we do about a given topic.

 

I’m always worried about overstaying my welcome with an audience. I guess there’s also such a thing as leaving the party too early.

 

As always, thanks for reading!
 

Amy M. Mayers

Communications Strategy

amymayers.com

Have a project or a problem you'd like to discuss? Get in touch! 

Amy M. Mayers

  o: (202) 363-2537

  c: (202) 236-7328

amy@amymayers.com

amymayers.com