5 questions to make every word count

It’s 4:30PM on a Friday—nearly time to head home—when someone stops by your desk to let you know they need a social post ready for Monday morning. They tell you they just emailed you the blurb—or worse, they toss a printed sheet down as they’re walking out, wishing you a good night and a restful weekend.

But you’ve been pumping out deliverables all week and you’re completely spent. You have no idea how you’ll manage to meet the deadline. You know that prepping the social post is probably going to encroach on your weekend plans of doing absolutely nothing unless you can crank out a good draft in the next few minutes. And, you’ve got to whittle down a whole chunk of text into a social post that is simple, concise, but still conveys the message and captures the attention of the audience.

How do you hash out something usable without taking hours to do it?

I’ll share with you five of the best questions to ask in situations where you have limited time and space to make a point. These questions help me in a pinch when I need strong language to support strong design. The questions work together in a “funneling” fashion to help filter out the fluffy language so that in the few moments you have to draft content and sufficiently hook the viewer, both the graphics and the words are working with you… not against you.

The first question is broad and all-encompassing:

1. What are we trying to tell our audience?

It’s crucial when approaching any project to make sure we’re keeping the big picture in mind. Whether it’s a company mission, a defined brand narrative, or simply a collection of elements that work together to build the brand’s identity online, the overarching message should be our foundation for every design and deliverable. For example, here is a statement that describes my personal brand:

H. L. Ackerman stands at the intersection between language and design to help both individuals and organizations speak visually.

2. What is the simplest way to say it?

Try to tell the story using six words or less; while this most likely isn’t your final post language, it can definitely help you cut out a lot of the fluff more quickly. Use these essential words to rebuild the message more simply. For our working example, I’ve simplified the blurb to these six words:

Use language in design—speak visually.

This example is a call to action for anyone in my audience who might be viewing my portfolio. I find the call to action to be the most efficient way to simplify a message. It answers the viewer’s question, “What do you want me to do with this information?” For other messages, it may be easier to use an example or metaphor.

3. What are the different ways to share it?

Social media—and by extension, all design projects—can be distributed in lots of different formats. Is your message best shared as a poll? An infographic? A photo with some text overlay? Make a list of all the possible ways you can share your message. Here are some examples for approaches that could be used in a social post on behalf of my Etsy shop, Isla Nova Creative:

• A clean, professional picture with a short caption using imagery in the language
• A Q&A session asking things like, “What do you design? How does language play into it?” Etc.
• A giveaway or contest encouraging the audience to share how they use language in design
• An infographic educating on the relationship between language and design

4. Which method is most relevant?

This question helps you decide which format will be your priority. Some topics or posts are better formatted as an image and caption, while others may feel like a more natural discussion through the use of questions, or as a cleverly-constructed short video. Look at your list of formats and potential approaches and choose the method that makes the most sense.

5. What tools will I need to make it work?

Now that you have identified your core message and the method you’ll use to share it, gather your resources: quotes, images, files, assets, etc. Use your clear and powerful keywords alongside your design principles of hierarchy, contrast, and typography to create a draft of your content.

To recap:

1. What are we trying to tell our audience?
2. What is the simplest way to say it?
3. What are the different ways to share it?
4. Which method is most relevant?
5. What tools will I need to make it work?

These five questions make up the funneling method that will help you quickly cut down to the good stuff. Don’t sit glaring at that piece of paper sitting at the edge of your desk; grab it with the confidence that it’s a quick task. Work it through the questions and you’ll find that a linguistic focus on design preparation will bring a new level of impact to your work, utilizing every word.