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From
hbr
Consider a delinquent taxpayer who receives one of the following two letters in the mail:
Letter 1: We are writing to inform you that we have still not received your tax payment of $5,000. It is imperative that you contact us.
Letter 2: We are writing to inform you that we have still not received your tax payment of $5,000. By now, 9 out of 10 people in your town have paid their taxes. It is imperative that you contact us.
Via The Learning Factor
Changing how you phrase things can pay off.
Experimenting with language, and simply not sticking to phrases and expressions, just because they have been used for ages, apparently just don't make them effective! Sometimes, official communication is so formal and brief, that the meaning is lost! This is indeed one article that highlights the need to review accepted norms of language for efficacy! The high sounding, "you are hereby warned that" , or "through the columns of your esteemed newspaper" seem too cliched to be effective, and at times the first one meant to intimadate the receipient might in fact add to the confusion!