Have you ever asked a question or sent a suggestion to a client or colleague, only to have them entirely misconstrue the message you are trying to convey? Does it sometimes feel like you are communicating in another language, with messages that appear straightforward simply not making it through to your audience in one piece?

Blogs can be a hotbed of miscommunication, often because posts tend to be led by personal opinion, and therefore carry an element of bias. Here’s my guide to three factors that can disrupt or distort your message on its way to your audience.

Message/medium mismatch

How you word any written communications should be governed in part by the intended method of delivery. When blogging, if you address your readership directly, it’s worth taking time to think about who they are likely to be, and try to avoid making broad generalisations that lump people into a category they’d rather not find themselves forced into.

Simliarly, the imagined audience referred to as “you” in a blog post addressed to a large audience will be very different to the “you” in a follow up email in response to a question from a reader. We expect personally addressed messages to be, well, personalized – to show an understanding of the individual recipient.

So, in a blog post, “Are you lacking a web presence?” might be a reasonable question to open with, whereas with a follow up email, you would be expected to have done your research and know the answer to this before firing out the message.

Multiple meaning mix-up

The accepted meaning of certain words can vary widely. This isn’t just down to dialect; it’s also down to personal opinion and experience. For example, if writing a review, keep in mind that one person considers to be a “fast service” could be positively snail-like in the eyes of another. If you’re using descriptive words like this, be sure to back them up with the facts. So, in this case, you could say, “Fast delivery, typically within 3 hours and in this case, within 45 minutes of receipt of my order.”

In addition, it’s wise to avoid complicated phrases as the wordier you get, the more open to misinterpretation the message becomes. This also goes for jargon and technical words, which should generally be avoided where possible, and clearly defined when used.

Tainted by terrible timing

In the event of an accident or tragedy, certain posts may have their meaning temporarily or permanently changed by the new context the event creates. For example, if you were to publish a post based on the concept of a business as a high-speed racing car on the same day as a serious Formula 1 accident, your message would be severely distorted.

If the event occurs after you have hit publish, there is, of course, little you can do other than respectfully amend or withdraw the materials from further public viewing. However, your audience is unlikely to be sympathetic if you allude to a tragedy that has already occurred, even if it done unwittingly. For this reason, it’s worth scouring the news for recent and current events that relate to your blog post’s concept before distribution, so as to reduce the risk of inadvertently causing offence and appearing obtuse or callous.

These are just three of many potential causes of miscommunication. What others would you add?