Ready4K’s Tips for Crafting Messages for Parents 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, we became reliant on emails, messages, and other forms of communication to stay in touch with families.  Whether you want to remind them about an upcoming webinar or send them some helpful information, it is important that what you share is easy for parents to read and digest.

To help, Ready4K hosted a webinar entitled, Messages That Motivate, for early learning professionals. The webinar looked at tips for crafting messages that can be easily read and understood. If you are interested in watching the webinar, click here to find a recording. Good2Know attended the webinar– below are a few of our key takeaways.​

Make Messages Manageable

Ready4K advised making messages easy for parents to read by including three easy-to-manage points that answer: what, why, and how. This helps to keep messages simple by keeping the focus on:  what you want parents to know or do, why this is important or what the value is, and how to do it. The how should always be doable, as parents are much more likely to do something when it easily fits into their daily behaviors.

A few tips to help keep your messages manageable are included below:

1. Messages should also be kept short and sweet. Try to avoid unnecessary wordiness. Parents might feel overwhelmed by messages that include long text that will take a long time to read through.
2. Try for a period instead of a comma to keep sentences shorter. Long sentences can sometimes be tough to read.
3. Use fewer descriptive words. Try to get to the point as quickly as possible, so that parents can quickly understand what your message is saying.
4. Be aware of your word choice. Word choice can be the difference between a message that feels overwhelming and one that feels empowering. Be especially aware of word choice in your first sentence.

Visualize Your Reader

As you write a communication to families, visualize them reading your messages. Think about where they are now, how they might be feeling, and what they might be experiencing.  Before you send a message, consider the following questions:

1. Would family members want to read this on their worst day? On their best day? 
2. How will this message make families feel? Think about specific parents and how they might perceive your message. 
3. Could families read this while caring for their children? Doing chores around the house?