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* Be specific. Brevity might be
soul of wit, but details are spice of life. Details provide nice reference points for visualization. They are like little clues that help customer create desired image in their mind. "Imagine yourself on a boat" does not have same evocative feel as "Imagine yourself on deck of your sailboat, gazing at sunset as breeze blows through your hair." The latter sentence might be hokey, but it creates a much fuller picture, doesn't it?
* Be clear. Nothing will ruin a mental image faster than a confusing or unclear idea. I don't know how many times I've been reading about a "business opportunity" and found myself wondering, "what in world are they talking about?" When you try to figure out a question like that, you are using most of your mental capacity to analyze, NOT to visualize.
* Use audience's experience to help you. Remember that your audience has a wealth of experiences that you can draw upon. This works well because you can create a lot of detail with just a few words. The "trick" is knowing what your audience has experienced and using that knowledge appropriately.
For example, if you were trying to evoke great, yet scary, feeling of starting your own business, you could call upon your audience's experiences by saying, "Think back on day on day you first rode your bike without training wheels" -- since most of us have had this experience, we would just fill in mental picture with our own details -- Presto! A complete visualization created in only 17 words!
Being able to help your customers visualize is difference between writing text that is simply informative, and writing text that is truly provocative. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but remember that a few words can often cause your audience to paint a picture in their minds -- a picture that you can use to show qualities of your product or service.
