I’ve written before about the art of communicating like a human. A company that says, “We apologize for any inconvenience” isn’t apologizing like a real human. And a college applicant who writes, “Playing on the basketball team taught me valuable life lessons about hard work and commitment” in her college essay isn’t communicating like a 17-year-old basketball player. Write as if you were talking to someone. Communicate like a real person. Put a little human in your writing.
Today, I emailed one of our Collegewise counselors and got the following auto-reply:
“Thank you for your email! I will be out of the office on Friday, March 22nd, having a mini-reunion with my college girlfriends and forcing them to… er…I mean, letting them help me put together wedding invites. Being my friend is a lot of work! I'll be back in the office on Monday and will return any calls or emails then. Thanks and have a great day.”
Sure, she could have hidden behind the standard, “I am out of the office with limited access to email. Please call so-and-so if this is urgent.” But she’s a real person. So are her Collegewise families and her co-workers who will see this reply. So why not write to them like it?
It’s nice to know that we practice what we preach.