Using this variety of reader references adds liveliness and reader interest
to the memo. Mary Jo signaled a strong connection with her volunteers
by referring to them in so many different ways.
Mary Jo said, “I was very conscious of the Empathy Index as I created
the first draft. Being aware of it saved me a lot of time. I found that I’d pause
between sentences and consider how I could integrate one or more of the
four options for referring to my readers. At the time, I thought these pauses
would add up to extra time in writing. But no—it actually saved me time.
“When I write, typically I know what I want to say. What was new
to me in the writing process was to pause and think for a moment about
how I wanted to say it. The idea of adding a reference to my readers in
every sentence, if I could, was new to me. Soon it became second nature,
and I discovered that my first drafts were so much better than they
used to be that it took me less time to revise them—which means the
memo writing process became quicker once I got used to the system.
By writing better, more focused first drafts, I’ve reduced the time it takes
me to write a decent communication by about a third.”