Writing with Humanity During Difficult Times
By Jessica Albon
Today I’m re-running an article I wrote just after Hurricane Katrina called Writing with Humanity During Difficult Times.
It’s below.
The reason that I decided to re-run it is because I got a lot of emails from readers wondering what the Haitian earthquake meant when it came to writing their newsletters–did they need to talk about the donation they’d made? If they did, did that look like marketing? If they didn’t, did that mean their readers would assume they were heartless and hadn’t made a donation at all?
And then, you have the folks who move resolutely on with their launches or blogs or newsletters without addressing the devastation at all, and I know for many of *my* readers (because y’all are such a wonderful mix of caring, compassionate types) that feels all wrong.
Personally, here’s what I’m thinking: I’m erring on the side of assuming *everyone* has made at least one donation and that any choice they make to publicize or not is very personally made, not out of a need to boast, but out of a deep desire to feel like they’re doing *something*. And, in a time like this, when giving money surely does not feel like doing near enough, I think a lot of people feel like giving money *and* publicizing that they’ve given money is doing that little bit extra.
If you pay much attention to the Blogosphere or to Twitter, there’s been a lot of backlash about businesses/speakers/authors “using” this to promote their latest whatever. And I think that backlash comes just as much from that feeling that whatever we may do, it won’t feel like enough–it won’t fix things fast enough, or offer enough comfort, or repair enough hurt. We’re all frustrated that there’s no magic wand to fix such devastation.
I’m sending you much love today, and am basking in gratitude for *you*. And, if you have thoughts to share on how you or other folks are publicly handling their concern for the people of Haiti, feel free to post them below. Of course, thoughts on how to write with compassion during times of crisis are welcome as well.
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Editor’s Note: This article was originally published September 4, 2005. My editor’s note in that issue read:
I’ve been sitting here at the keyboard for over an hour–completely unsure of how to write today’s issue. What do I say in light of the disaster left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina? How should I “behave”? Are you, my reader, even really up to read about newsletters today?
Perhaps you’ve experienced this same difficulty in writing your own newsletter in the past week–deciding how to balance professionalism, and compassion. It’s a fine line between hand-wringing and sympathy-extending!
And that line is made all the more difficult when you make your newsletter your own. After all, if you’re just the Corporate Voice, you don’t *have* to extend any sympathy. You don’t have to be human.
In today’s issue, I’ll share with you the only technique I know for making the writing a bit easier at a time like this.
As I said in the introduction, today’s issue has been very difficult to write. I’ve been sitting here, flipping through other websites (mostly cnn.com), trying to gather my thoughts.
One thing that keeps coming up for me is that being human in your newsletter is one thing when times are good, when business is rolling along, when life is full of joy…
And, yet, when something frightening, or awful, or just-plain-bad happens, we are often left at a loss for words.
Something that sometimes helps is to see if there’s a way to connect what’s happened to what you usually write about–the way I’m offering you an approach for writing your own newsletter in a time of difficulty. That can make it a bit easier to write your issue, because you can keep your focus on helping your readers.
When that’s not possible, or when that feels insincere, there’s only one thing you can do: acknowledge the difficulty and do your best.
Some people are gifted with astounding eloquence, they have an ability to write or speak in times like this with such compassion and wisdom that they make people feel significantly better.
The rest of us can simply do the best we can.
So, in this coming week, that’s your “assignment.” If you have a newsletter issue coming out, simply do your best, and know that even the smallest step in the right direction is still a step that makes a difference.
Your challenge: Don’t be afraid to be at a loss for words in your newsletter. If that’s where you’re at, then that’s where you’re at. Simply do your best this week, and every week thereafter.
