Communication Strategies By David Schuknecht, CMCA, AMS

Composing correspondence that is directed to an entire association can prove to be a difficult task. Communicating effectively with hundreds of different personalities, reading styles, and reading comprehension levels is challenging.

For that reason, journalists are often instructed to curtail their writing to an 8th grade or below level. In fact, USA Today rose to notoriety due to their simple easy-to-read style. Here are some tips from journalism experts to consider while composing your next communication.

Map out your key message points and get them on paper (or screen). Add only the detail you need to get your message across. Too much detail will detract from the message.

Make sure all your detail reinforces your key message points. Don’t stray. If offering a lot of complex information, periodically remind readers of your key points.

Anticipate the important questions and answer them as soon as possible in the text. If you leave readers hanging without answers, you will lose them altogether.

Once you engage your readers, give them a way to take action. Provide the next steps they can take. Let them know how they can get involved.

Keep your language understandable. Avoid technical language when possible. If you use a word that an 8th grader may not know, use a simple descriptive or example. You don’t want your readers to feel uneducated. Skip the 100-point Scrabble words. Always spell out acronyms the first time you use them.

When using examples, make sure readers can relate to them. For example, most people have no idea how big 100,000 square feet is, but they can relate to the example if you use two football fields instead.

Don't be afraid to ask for help composing your message. Other managers, administrative staff, and the board of directors are all people who could be interested in helping make sure your message is clear and easily understood.

Proof! When people see bad grammar, misspellings and typos, they figure if you couldn’t take the time to proofread your work, then why should they take the time to read it. Best practice is to have at least one other person read your messages before they are published.

David Schuknecht, CMCA, AMS, is a community manager for Personalized Property Managment and has been a portfolio manager for the last several years. David can be reached at (760) 325-9500 or by email at David@ppminternet.com.