How to talk(write) to an audience
We communicate with our students in a variety of ways, including through social media channels, newsletters and e-mail. It is important that students not only hear us but understand what we are saying.
Here are some pointers for you to consider when talking to your audience.
Who are you talking to?
Think about who you are talking to and what their level of understanding will be. If you are talking to the whole student population, remember that there will be a range of language/reading abilities. In addition, students will have different interest levels in different topics, and they will have differing understanding of different topics.
Considerations
What do they already know?
If the audience is deemed to have a low level of understanding (of a topic) you should aim to avoid acronyms, avoid using vague words and phrases and avoid assumptions. For examples, please refer to the following tables.
Instead of saying
Why not try
What’s changed? Go to the Hub
Go to the Undeb Bangor Activities Hub, that’s located above Bar Uno on the Ffriddoedd Site
State what the Hub is and where it is located. Don’t assume that everyone knows where it is.
Contact the club
You can contact the Men’s Football, sport club by e-mail or through their Instagram handle @ExampleOfInstaHandle
Not everyone will know what a ‘club’ is or how exactly you get in touch with them. Be specific.
Contact the society
Contact the project
You can contact the circus society by e-mail or through their Instagram handle @ExampleOfInstaHandle
You can contact project leaders of Sblat, the volunteering project, by email or through their Instagram handle @ExampleOfInstaHandle
The AU Movember page Undeb Bangor’s Athletic Union are taking part in Movember and you can join in with the fundraising by donating though the webpage, www.webaddress.com
Tell a rep about your problems If you have any issues regarding your course, then you can contact your Course Rep. Each course has a Course Rep, and they are here to help you
This campaign is the best yet The ‘Eating Pancakes’ campaign is our biggest ever attempt to get students involved in making pancakes.
Be specific.
Not everyone will know what a ‘project’ is. Be specific.
Use Athletic Union instead of the acronym AU. Expand on Movember and explain that it’s a fundraising event.
Not everyone will know what a ‘rep’ is. Be specific.
Tell them what the campaign is and why it’s the best yet.
Superteams is back and we want you to join us
Superteams is an annual event that has Athletic Union Sport Clubs compete against each other in a variety of different tasks.
Do you want to compete?
Don’t assume that people will know what ‘Superteams’ is just because it’s been going on for years. Tell them why you are telling them about it, you either want them to compete or you want them to spectate.
Meet us at Ffridd
Are you coming to spectate?
Meet us outside Bar Uno on the Ffriddoedd Site, Ffriddoedd Road at 7pm.
Provide details.
What do they need to know?
It is critical that you release all relevant information at once. You need to make sure that any promotional text contains all information a student will need to attend an event/campaign. Releasing information at once will avoid follow-up e-mails from students wanting to find out more. Consider these 'W's':
Who Who is going to be at the event
Who is welcome at the event
What What is the event (don’t assume that they know)
What is required to attend the event (any pre-requisite)
What do I need to bring
When Date and Time
Why Why should someone attend; What are the benefits of attending?
Where Location - Be specific. If it’s in a field, which field and how do you get there.
Where do I pay for the event
Where do I find more information
This list is not exclusive, but a guide to things you should be considering.
Style of writing
It is important that our writing style is engaging, clear, and concise. There are several web pages that can provide aid, there are also things you can take into consideration when writing. Table 1 lists some common writing errors that can causes confusion for the reader.
Word Context of use
You’re You are *something*
Your Belongs to you
They’re They are
Their Belongs to them
There Over there
Its Something that belongs to them
It’s It is
‘s Possession of a singular word
s’ Possession of a plural word (Students’ Union; the union belongs to all students)
Use concise language
By using concise language, we are making our message easily digestible for all students.
Wordy Example Concise Example Solution
I’m incredibly sorry for the extremely last-minute request. I’ll make sure I loop you in during earlier stages in future projects.
There are problems with the lease.
There are several good reasons to delay making this decision.
There is a natural desire among adolescents to experience freedom from authority.
I’m so sorry for the last-minute request. I’ll make sure I loop you in earlier on future projects.
The lease has problems
Locate and delete unnecessary modifiers
Identify and reduce prepositional phrases (in,” “for,” “at,” “on,” “through,” and “over”)
We should delay making this decision for several reasons.
Adolescents naturally crave freedom from authority.
Gave an assessment of, Assessed
For each and every book you purchase, you will receive a free bookmark.
Because a great many of the words in this sentence are basically unnecessary, it would really be a very good idea to edit somewhat for conciseness.
The reason for the failure of the basketball team of the University of North Carolina in the Final Four game against the team from Kansas was that on that day and at that time, some players were frequently unable to rebound the ball.
Do not try to anticipate in advance those events that will completely revolutionize society.
In the event that going out for the purpose of eating with them cannot be avoided, it is necessary that we first go to the ATM, in light of the fact that I am out of cash.
For every book you purchase, you will receive a free bookmark.
Because many of the words in this sentence are unnecessary, we should edit it.
UNC’s basketball team lost the Final Four game against Kansas because it could not consistently rebound the ball.
Identify and reduce prepositional phrases (in,” “for,” “at,” “on,” “through,” and “over”)
Concise
Concise
Eliminate redundant pairs
Delete unnecessary qualifiers
Identify and reduce prepositional phrases (in,” “for,” “at,” “on,” “through,” and “over”)
Do not try to anticipate revolutionary events.
If we must go out to eat with them, we should first go to the ATM because I am out of cash.
Locate and delete unnecessary modifiers
Replace a phrase with a word
If you do not have more than five years of experience, do not call for an interview if you have not already spoken to human resources.
Use a positive tone
Applicants with more than five years of experience can bypass human resources and call for an interview.
Identify negatives and change them to affirmatives
By using a positive tone, we are instantly making the readers feel positive about what they are about to read. A negative tone can make readers feel angry and defensive before they even think about the content of the message.
Negative
You can’t get a free bagel if you don’t stand in that line.
Don’t forget to book a meeting room,
I’m sorry we cannot discuss a cap on selling prices because the key decision maker is not available until Monday
I will be out of town from February 13 until February 18, and will not be able to meet with you until after that
Positive
To get a free bagel, stand in this line.
Remember to book a meeting room
We can discuss a cap on selling prices on Monday, when the key decision maker is available.
I can meet with you after February 18.
Websites and add-on’s that can help your writing style.
There are websites such as Grammarly and Word Tune that provide suggestions on how to improve your text's engagement, clarity, and grammar. You can download free add-on so that Grammarly/Word Tune checks your writing when you are writing straight into an internet browser e.g. creating webpages or communication plan requests, any Cognito form. These tools will ensure that your text is checked for errors.
https://www.grammarly.com/
https://www.wordtune.com/
Microsoft has an editor suggestion pane that pops up when you are writing directly into Teams This can also help with formality, conciseness, spelling and grammar