It’s All About the Words

Posted by Deborah Chaddock Brown on July 15, 2009 under Connecting Moments | Be the First to Comment

I lost my father earlier this year and when he passed my Mom met with the Donor Network and agreed to donate portions of his body.  About two weeks later we received a lovely thank you letter from the Donor Network of Arizona.  It was a lovely gesture and Mom proudly showed the letter to my brother and I.  That was some time in March.

Just a few days ago we received another letter in an over-sized envelope from the DNAZ.  This time with a lovely embossed certificate of appreciation.

My first thought was: it’s just paper, it can’t replace Dad.  But Mom was so touched and carefully placed the certificate back in its folder.  “I don’t want anything to happen to this,” she said.

I read the accompanying letter and realized that with just a few words – they really showed how much they cared.

“It is our honor to present you with a Certificate of Appreciation from Dr. Elizabeth M. Duke of the Department of Health and Human Services of the United States.  Such a certificate is but a gesture; however, the gratitude behind it cannot be measured. Each certificate is given in recognition of the true act of compassion and it specifically refers to Paul as one who gave the gift of life.”

A small thing.  Just a few words.  But clearly James Cascio, Coordinator, Donor Family and Advocate Service, who wrote the letter, is in tune with the high levels of emotion involved in the gift my Mom and Dad gave.  They didn’t need to send a certificate and follow up letter.  They’d already sent a lovely letter at the time of the donation. 

Loss of a loved one is so personal and leaves a deep cavern of grief but the joy and hope this letter provided put a smile on the face of my Mom. My Dad lives on in others; figuratively and literally.

It goes to show that just a few words – words written with the reader in mind – can have an enormous impact. 

Do you put yourself in the reader’s shoes when crafting your communication?  Do your words touch a cord with your target prospect or existing customers?