Feb 19 2008
Be Consistent With Your Image
The following two paragraphs say basically the same thing: “Hey, you didn’t send the money, therefore ….” One is from a respected national life insurance company, while the other is from a not-so-respectable local loan shark. Read them and see if you can sense the subtle differences between them.
- We did not receive the first premium payment for the policy you requested. Without the initial premium, the policy could not go into effect and the time for placing it has expired. Please contact your agent with any questions.
- You didn’t make your first loan payment. That makes the boss very unhappy. Look, you’re a nice person and I don’t like to see a nice person have problems. So bring the money ? and I mean now. Maybe we can make the boss happy again and avoid a lot of unpleasantness.
The first paragraph sounds exactly like what you would expect from an insurance company. The second sounds like what you’d expect from a loan shark. While their approaches are radically different, both approaches are consistent with their perceived images. No surprises.
When writing for the real world, it’s important to be consistent with your established image. People expect insurance companies to sound like insurance companies and loan sharks to sound like loan sharks. If you’re not consistent with your image, you’ll startle them. They’ll feel confused. They won’t trust you.
And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. Imagine what would happen if the national insurance company sent its defaulting clients the loan shark’s statement! Yes, there would be an outcry, lost business and enough lawsuits to keep a staff of attorneys busy for years.
On the flip side of the coin, what if the loan shark sent his nonpaying customers the insurance company’s statement? Probably nothing. People who fail to repay loan sharks typically don’t respond to nice, nonaggressive requests for money. (At least that’s what I’m told.)
Finally, make sure your written communications are consistent with your image from start to finish. Here’s an example of one that breaks this rule:
We did not receive the first premium payment for the policy you requested. Without the initial premium, the policy could not go into effect and the time for placing it has expired. Please contact your agent with any questions. And next time, go waste another insurance company’s time, okay?
So be consistent with your writing. That means being consistent with your perceived image and consistent throughout your written piece, from the first to the last word. If you do, you’ll be a more effective writer and I won’t have to send someone out to break your keyboard.
PS. Take your writing skills to a new level. Check out the real-world writing e-books now available for immediate download. Only $7. Click here.
