The 5 things you should be doing to build trust in your writing
FORT COLLINS, Colo., — (May 22, 2020) — You are a writer. As a professional, you probably spend more than half of your day writing—notes, text messages, emails, reports, media content. And you learned to write through formal education that taught you how to use words to express complete thoughts. But in focusing on how to get the ideas out of our heads and down onto the page, our formal education didn’t effectively teach us to write for others. And writing for others is essential for establishing your credibility and getting those others to trust you.
For example, if you write a grocery list for yourself and you misspell “bananna,” does it matter? Will you be confused at the grocery store and suspicious of yourself for the mistake? Of course not.
But if you misspell a word in an email to your boss, it’s different. Imagine you write an email to your boss about shipping a product: “The fright cost will be $142.66.” The difference between “freight” and “fright” is one letter. Your boss will probably figure out what you meant, but because of this typo, your boss may wonder whether the decimal point is in the right place and write you back, “Did you mean $1,426.60?” One error leads the boss to look for other errors in your work. The error creates a lack of credibility; your boss doesn’t trust you.
This is the central need of our professional writing: to establish trust with others. Credibility is especially fragile in our first few engagements with people: any error, no matter how small, can create distrust. People who don’t know you look for signs in your writing that you are trustworthy. Here are the top 5 things you can do to establish trust with your audience.
Spell their name correctly. Our names are our identities. Misspelling our name is an immediate signal that the writer doesn’t care about the reader. This is especially true if the reader knows that you have access to their correctly spelled name, for example, if they wrote you first. Look for cues about what your audience likes to be called, use that name and spell it correctly.
Use a greeting word or phrase to start an email. Do not start with just their name. Do you usually start a conversation with someone by just saying their name? Only if it’s bad. We use greetings when we are being friendly and putting people at ease: “Hi, Jim!” or “Good morning, Judy!” Most people feel better about messages that start with a greeting.
Don’t start your message with “I.” “I” itself is not a bad word, but too often we start with “I am writing you because” or “I am emailing you because.” The reader sees “I am writing you” and thinks yes, you are. These phrases are about what “I” am thinking and have nothing to do with why I am communicating to you. Start with information and words that are useful to your audience: “Here is the report you requested” or “When is the next Board of Directors meeting?”
Use white space. Giant blocks of text are not useful to anyone. Your reader isn’t cozying up with your email and reading every word. Your reader is trying to figure out what you want and what the reader should do next. They are looking for those key details. Using white space makes it easier for them to find that information. Use short paragraphs with white space between them.
Wait at least 15 minutes after writing your message to proofread it. You cannot physically see what you have written within 15 minutes because of how the brain processes visual information. You will only see what you think you wrote. To be sure your message is correct, you must be patient. Get into the habit of writing a draft, saving it while you make a phone call or refill your coffee, and then reading it over again before you send it out. This one can significantly improve the effectiveness of your messages.
To be credible in writing, stay focused on the reader and how they will receive your message more than what you are trying to say. You have a lot of experience getting your words out of your head and into messages. When you start focusing on your readers needs, you send signals that you care about them—and that is what ultimately builds trust.
(Originally published in BizWest.)