Thursday, 21st May 2020
I repeatedly say, to clients, potential clients and anyone who will listen to me as I shout into the wind, that consistency is king.
When you communicate, your message must be clear and understood by all. It’s easy for readers to understand if your message is consistent but as soon as you deviate, it’s too easy for readers to become confused.
And you can substitute ‘readers’ in the above sentence to ‘listeners’, ‘customers’, ‘clients’ or ‘people who need to receive your message’. It doesn’t matter what the words are, it’s crucial you are giving your message with clarity.
Why am I labouring this point?
Well, today, I went to a well-known DIY store. Very well-known and very orange. I needed some chain cutting. I, being more used to typing that manual labour, need someone to do this task for me. It turns out that was quite complicated as the chain cutting devise was a bit mangled.
But what does this have to do with consistency?
Well, I’m getting there.
You see, I wasn’t shopping alone. Someone else also went off to find someone to find out about chain cutting and was told that the store isn’t doing that at the moment, “because of coronavirus.”
Which made him look rather silly when, two seconds after being told this, I turn the corner with my cut length of chain.
Today, nothing more than a man’s pride was hurt. (And, by the look on his face, it really stung!)
But inconsistencies can cost a lot. Money from potential clients. Readers from future books. Votes from future elections.
If I say it once, I’ll say again: get your message consistent!
If you want to make sure your writing is consistent, you can start by downloading a free style sheet from the resources for writers page. If you’d like a professional eye to look over your work, get in touch and find out how I can support your work.
