Almost everything you write is for many people to read (if
only in your dreams). You may have an email distribution list of 10,000
addresses or be hoping for 50,000 website hits; either way you will be
imagining a healthy audience. Let's assume I'm reading an article you've
written that contains the following statement:
“Many of you recognise
the need for quality writing in your business.”
This may well be true of the group you are communicating
with, but that's not the point. What you have done is put me, the reader, in a
crowd which is being addressed by the literary equivalent of a megaphone.
You've made me feel like a punter at Hyde Park Corner, listening to you warble
on about your favourite topic. So if it's OK with you, I'm going to walk on;
you've obviously got a big enough audience already.
If I hang around, I may consider the point you are trying to
make: that some of the readers of your piece don't recognise the need
for quality writing. Are you trying to make me feel uncomfortable, an outsider
in a self-satisfied group of know-it-alls? Well, it's working, and I'm really
going this time.
The alternative is simple: talk to one imaginary reader and
do it directly and personally. Let your voice be inside her head, speaking to
her privately. Not only will it be more effective but you will find your
writing becomes more focused. You're showing that you are more interested in
your reader than you are in listening to your own voice:
“You recognise the
need for quality writing in your business.”
That's got my attention now. Whether or not you're right,
you are talking to me and me alone. In return I'm going to give you the
opportunity to finish what you want to tell me.
One thing to remember: if you have trouble getting a clear
mental picture of your reader for a particular piece of writing, then face up
to the possibility that you have too many segments of your market in mind. Pick
one – your writing will benefit, and the message will resonate much more with
your reader.
That is exactly the effect you want to have: better the relevant
words that make some people listen, than the general words that make everybody
walk away.
