Have you ever had the experience of saying something that you thought was absolutely clear, only to be completely misunderstood?

Communication is more than speaking and being heard, or writing and being read. There are many factors that can prevent your intended message being received accurately.

Your audience’s background knowledge, expectation of meaning, familiarity with the topic, and ability to access the message are just some of them. The choice of medium, voice and language level along with your knowledge of your audience also play a part.

Increasingly, visual elements are part of your tool kit, too.

So if your sentences are unclear, your writing doesn't flow, you don't know your audience's composition or you haven't thought about the best medium, it's very likely you won't hook your readers.

And given that people have sooooo much information they can choose to engage with, they won't spend the time trying to understand yours. They'll move on to something else. Which is not what you want.

To prevent that happening, in my editing I'll look with you at:

• who your audience is and what their needs are: what problems they have that you can solve
• how your message can be shaped and structured to suit your audience
• how the layout and signposting of your message can boost accessibility
• how visual elements can strengthen their engagement
• what medium will best reach them: maybe a print brochure, social media content, webpage text, or another option.

Want to know more? Read about the different kinds of editing that I could apply to ensure your writing project is communicating successfully: that is, reaching the people you want and drawing them in.