“If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll probably end up somewhere else”
That’s a book by David Campbell.
It’s a great title. You can apply it to lots of things – car journeys, your career, your relationships…
… and to communication:
- In your next meeting – if you don’t know what you want to achieve after it, you won’t achieve it. You’ll achieve something else
- In your next presentation – if you don’t know what you want your audience to do after hearing it – and/or you don’t ask them to do it – they’ll do something else
- In your next email – if you don’t know what you want the reader to do after reading it, they’ll probably do something else
- And if you’re writing a Tuesday Tip – and if you aren’t sure what you want your lovely reader to do after reading it – they probably won’t. But, good news…
… I do know what I want you to do after reading it. Which is this…
Action Point
Before every communication – as in, every single one:
- Before you create it, ask yourself “what do I want them to DO after my communication?”
- Write this DO as your Call to Action
- And then – and only then – ask yourself “Given that I want them to DO that after my communication, what’s the only content I need to include, to make sure they DO it?”