Strategies for clear and impactful messaging

We live in an era of communication and transparency. While being able to convey your message properly has and will always be a challenge, there are several guidelines and strategies you can use to make your messages clearer and effective, thereby increasing the impact it will have on your readers.

Here are a few of them.

Speak the language of your audience

First things first, you need to identify your target audience. For your message to be effective, you will need to assess the group of people you will be conveying the message to. You will need to factor in their opinion about your topic or if they are at all interested, you will need to consider their age, occupation, skills, and education.

 A more informal tone may be a hit among the younger generation but will not sit well with the older generation and they might go as far as to find your message disrespectful. The best way to go about things is to keep it short and simple and barring the case of highly specific messages, keep the language on a level that is digestible by all.

 Speaking of short and simple. Avoid using fancy words or technological terms and industry jargon because then the message might just go over peoples' heads.

Be concise

Concision refers to the ability to express your ideas using as few words as possible. Using way more words than required is a very prevalent mistake while communicating where by saying too much, we end up saying nothing at all.

We run the risk of allowing our core message to be lost among unnecessary words so the less we use, the clearer our message.

Besides, social media is making our attention spans shorter by the day so you will need to assume that about your listeners as well. Rest assured that your listeners will appreciate a concise message as not only is it easy to grasp, but also shows how confident you are with your message and also the level of respect you have for their time.

Rely on verbs over adjectives/adverbs

Referring back to the point of being concise, a sentence that is cluttered with too many adjectives and adverbs can move the focus away from the key takeaways of your message and make the reader lose track. Sure, they can be effective in making the message more appealing but over-using them can cost you dearly. The key to an impactful message is a strong verb which will be its centrepiece so pick one that will resonate with your reader.

Have a clear content strategy for each platform

A very crucial factor to keep in mind while forming your message is the availability of different platforms that will spread it to the world. You will need to formulate strategies for each individual platform. This is not a case of one size fits all. What works well on Facebook will not work on YouTube, what works on YouTube will not work on TikTok, and so on. There are variations in the user base and the way we use these platforms are very different as well. Of course, the core message will be built around the same points but you will need to make tweaks and adjustments so that they can have the same level of impact on different social media platforms.

Make sure your message covers all the bases of appeals

The three bases you need to be mindful of are Ethos, Logos, and Pathos. Ethos refers to your ability to stand out as a credible and trustworthy source to the audience. Someone who indeed has superior knowledge about the subject and can create a genuine difference. Logos focuses on logic so always ensure that there are facts, numbers, or examples to support your message. Pathos appeals to the emotions of the audience and will ensure that they get behind your cause.

Do test runs

Before sending your message out to the world or the target audience, try running small-scale tests to see what the initial responses are like. The feedback from these test runs will go a long way as they can help you make tweaks and adjustments that will help the message sit with your desired audience. This will also allow you to revise and get a fresher perspective which will make your message extremely impactful.