My 11-year-old daughter and I were watching a movie The Art of Violin. (She had talked me into watching it as part of her violin practice time.) In it, we watched several famous violinists playing–Yehudi Menuhin, Fritz Kreisler, Isaac Stern, Jascha Heifetz–with commentary about their technique, uniqueness, and particular gifts.
After about 15 minutes, my daughter asked, “Why don’t they show any woman violinists? I’m a girl. I would like to see girls playing.”
Beyond the world of violinists and my daughter, there is a whole world of people like her–people who are looking for images, words, and sounds that speak to them. Just as she needed to see people like her in the movie, worldwide audiences need to find themselves in websites, annual reports, magazine and news stories, recommendations, advertisements, donor solicitations, and more.
As business writers, we need to see those readers when we write. We need to know or imagine what our readers look like, think like, and understand. Here are a few suggestions:
- Use language for readers around the globe. Know that if you write to groups, some of the individuals in the groups will speak English as a foreign language.
- If you use photos of people in your annual reports, newsletters, and websites, use photos that look like your readers, customers, and people you want to attract.
- Unless you have a solid business reason not to do so, use photos of both genders. Use both men and women as the experts you quote, the people you describe, and the examples you provide.
- Avoid jargon unless you are certain that only those who understand it will read your document.
- Tell stories to illustrate difficult concepts–stories that will be universally understood.
- Spend time learning about your readers–especially those who are different from you.
- Make the effort to take the steps above. They do require effort and time, but the investment pays off when you engage many more people (perhaps many more millions) with your message.
Think beyond today. Even if today all your readers speak the same language, grew up in the same country, have the same skin color, and are one gender, tomorrow they may not be. Be prepared. When those 11-year-old violinists around the world grow up and start reading your reports, newsletters, and weblogs, you will want to be ready for them.