I don't want to complain, but...

Among all the things that make sleep sometimes elusive for professional communicators, form letters and the like are probably not that high on the list. Perhaps they should be.

Have you taken a looksee recently at any document your company or, egad, your department routinely sends to its most important audiences? If not, gather up all your form letters, automatic e-mail replies, and anything else that is your corporate equivalent of "Dear Occupant" and read them.

No, really. Read them.

Chances are you'll be stunned by what you see. Generic language that doesn't fit with all the situations for which it is being used. Copy that's either too familiar, or too formal. Wording drawn from your vocabulary, not the recipients'.

In other words, communication that does more harm than good. Case in point: the "Complaint Department."

A large, Kansas City-area insurance company sends a letter from the "Complaint Department" to all those who file an appeal of a denied claim. The message? We have sent you to the people who deal with complainers. They will handle you from this point forward.

How difficult would it have been to use terminology that suggested interest? A process that keeps the customer's health front and center? An appreciation for the person who was to receive this letter?

What would have been wrong with, "Appeals Department?" Or "Claim Review Office?" Or even, heaven forbid, "Customer Care?"

Oftentimes, such language issues have more to do with the communications savvy of the person writing the letter (or whatever form of communication the missive takes) than any maliciousness or carelessness on the part of that author. In other words, the person who decided that the appeal letter should come from the Complaint Department probably didn't even think it was an issue.

Therein lies the problem. If you have communication tactics that are thought of as mostly perfunctory, give them each a good going over with these ideas in mind:

• Is it being used too broadly? All too often, organizations make due with generic communications that kind of, sort of, probably cover a whole host of situations. The end result: They do a poor job all around. If you read something that sounds like a square peg/round hole situation, create multiple versions that are a better fit.
• What inadvertent messages are you sending? A solid, functional piece of routine communication can hit a brick wall if your double entendre sensors are a bit fuzzy. The example letter above is a case in point: Everything up to closing addressed the appeal process, while the last line labeled the recipient a whiner.
• Does it show any interest? The principle of the "Moment of Truth" says that every contact with a customer either enhances or damages the relationship. Keep that in mind the next time you have something that screams "just bang this out" and put yourself in the place of your reader. Would you want to read what you just wrote?

The message? When it comes to effective communication, it's not the big stuff that'll trip you up. It's the details. So catch your breath, and invest the time necessary to make everything you produce meaningful. Even letters from the Complaint Department.