How to Make It Easier For People To Respond

If you live in New York, you’re probably a frequent rider of the subway.

For someone who’s never been on the subway before, it’s easy to find it difficult.

Especially when you have to transfer between multiple trains to reach your destination.

First, you’ve got to check the map. Then you have to figure out the route. And after you reach the first transfer point, you need to find the next train. Like I said, it can get difficult.

But what if you only needed to take one train?

It’d be a lot simpler, right? Of course. So why do we always try to put our audience on several trains? It’s no wonder our communications don’t work as well as we’d like. I suggest, it’s time to pull the emergency stop.

It’s time to stop trying to cram everything into your emails, blog posts, articles or whatever else. Make it easy for people to respond.

Now I’m not saying you should dumb things down

What I am saying is:

1. People are busy
2. It’s easier to respond to one thing, than it is to respond to five.

For example…

Let’s say you send an email to someone with a bunch of questions–what’s in the reply? The answer to one, maybe two questions. And it’s usually the answer to last question. Why is that?

It’s because the reader is remembering the last thing they read and forgetting about the rest of the stuff. That is, if they make it to the end. But what would happen if we just focused on one thing?

One thing makes it easier to respond

Too many thoughts equals too many trains to ride. And we already know how difficult that can get. But by sticking to one thing at a time, we can focus on that one thing in-depth. Then guess what happens?

By the end of your piece of communication, the reader has something they can take away. Something they can remember. Maybe it’s an idea or concept they can share. Or maybe it’s and action you want them to take.

One train gets you to your destination without difficulty

You’ll notice something else too. You’re much more focused. You’re not all over the place talking about this or that. And if it’s easier for you to stay focused when you’re writing–yep, it’s easier for your audience as well.

So don’t make it difficult for people with a bunch of different trains

Simplify all your communications by using this single train concept. This allows you to be extremely detailed and focused. It makes it easier for your reader to take something away from it. You also don’t have to worry about people getting lost on the subway.

Still unsure? Let’s test it. What one thing was this article about?

Here’s what you can do now

Take a look at past blogs, articles, emails, whatever. Do you talk about multiple thoughts at once? Break ‘em up and write about each thought separately.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by too many trains of thought?