Printing out this newsletter
may lead to paper cuts

You don't have to look long and hard to find a product with a warning label that will have you thinking, "Isn't it time to cage the lawyers?" Thanks to a new book, you don't have to look at all.

In Wearing of this garment does not enable you to fly, "authors" Jeff Koon and Andy Powell have collected more than 100 warning labels whose creators are either terribly skittish, not overly confident about the quality of our educational system, or both.

In this book (which will take only about 10 minutes out of your life, if you choose to read it), you'll see gems such as these:

• Bowl Fresh Toilet Bowl Cleaning Tablets...Harmful if swallowed.
  Gilla Collapsible Window Shade for Cars...Caution: Remove shade before operating vehicle.
• Clorox Clean-Up Cleaner with Bleach...If vapors bother you, leave the room.
• Bic Surestart Outdoor Lighter...Warning: Ignite lighter away from face and clothing.

You get the point. Somewhere, someone using these products once thought, "Hey, I wonder what would happen if I..." The result: A new warning label designed to protect the apparently unprotectable from themselves, and the company from lawsuits.

While the need for such statements is likely to cause muttering among those who actually understand that donning a Superman cape will not enable flight, it does create a dilemma for communications professionals seeking to explain sometimes complicated products, services or ideas to a distracted public - some of whom require this level of simplicity.

How do you balance necessary detail with sales points? How simple must you make the description without insulting the more literate members of your target audience? Is this really why you're in this field?

The answer to the last question should be a qualified "yes." After all, while the medium is different, it's still the same challenge of taking what you have and making it palatable, understandable and appealing to your target audience. How can you do so?

• What's in it for them? While there may be caterwauling from the corner office, you'll skate by much of the "Do I need to explain this?" drama if you focus more on selling than you do on telling. In other words, I don't need to understand what rack and pinion steering is; just sell me on why I must have it on my new vehicle.
• Repeat, then repeat again. While you shouldn't literally say the same thing over and over again (and if you thought that, you might be the target audience for that book...), don't overestimate the value of rephrasing and repeating your key points. Remember, you're much more interested in what you are writing about than your reader is.
• Enlist a disinterested friend. If you really want to know if your messages are coming through loud and clear, ask someone who doesn't eat, sleep and breathe marketing message making to give it a glance. Ask them to tell you if it makes sense, and if it sells - even if they don't think they'd be particularly interested in buying.

The message: You don't need to talk down to your audience. Just make certain you are talking to them, and about them - not about you. Do so, and you'll make your sales points to an audience that may actually be listening.