Communication Tips for Leadership – 6 of 15

Communication Tips  (SERIES)

Tip #6.  Break the Rules – Paragraph Structure

Abiding by the standard writing format can prove to disengage an audience.  We believe that an alternative approach to communication can be more effective.  Compare the standard paragraph structure to a typical Resicom communication piece.

Traditional Paragraph Structure

First Sentence: Declaration of Something

Second Sentence: Supporting Statement #1

Third Sentence: Supporting Statement #2

Fourth Sentence: Summary of Paragraph

Fifth Sentence: Transitional Sentence to the Next Paragraph

Resicom Paragraph Structure

First Sentence: Answers the question  “Why should I care to read this?”

Second Sentence: Answers the question “How could reading this apply to me?”

Third Sentence: Answers the question “What do you want me to do?”

Fourth Sentence: You probably don’t need one

Fifth Sentence: You most likely don’t need one

Most communications include objectives for the audience to (a) understand you and (b) engage with you.  If your communication is brief and to the point, your audience will be more likely to (a) read your communications and (b) ask questions to learn more – achieving both of your goals.  Consider how you can increase your response rates by revising your communication approach.