Being a writer is an awfully fun gig and I absolutely love what I do. The sheer bliss of stringing words together is like weaving magic on a page and there really is no thrill that can compare to doing that well. But I’ve come to the point in life where I also like sharing that knowledge, and one of my other favourite things to do is to coach other writers in their own evolution.

Once a writer has learned how to structure their work well, and can write with a certain amount of style, I like to lead them through the most valuable set of writing skills for our competitive world and that is to write to engage an audience. Engaging an audience is the most important step in motivating folks to understand your position, support your program or take a desired action. My last blog post provided an overview of some of the top ways of doing that – you need to:

1. Tell people why your program or initiative is important. 
2. Show your audience you understand their pain. 
3. Add an emotional component. 
4. Reference experiences your audience will embrace. 
5. Use language that incorporates different motivational cues.

Today we’re looking at the “Why” issue.

Telling your audience why your topic is important shows them what the payoff is going to be and the more compelling you can make that, the better. In a corporate communications setting, for example, your readers might want to know if it will help them do their job better or more efficiently, improve relationships with other people or between their department and another, help them meet their objectives, or give them more control over their time or their department.

What’s more, studies out of the field of psychology have shown that different people filter information differently and one of the filtration systems we all use on a subconscious level means every one of us will filter the world around us according to why something is important, what it is, how it works OR what big dream it facilitates. We might do all of those things at different times. But only one of them is our most important default filter in any given context.

Guess which group is the most likely to tune out first? You guessed it: the folks whose primary filtration system centres around “why” something is important. If you don’t give them that information right off the top, they will tune you out and Bingo! you’ve lost the chance to inform or influence them.

It is certainly not difficult to include that information in your written work — you just have to remember to do it.

Interested in more on engagement? Check back soon for my next blog post, which will help you show your audience that you understand their pain.