That's the question Steve Yastrow asks in his latest newsletter (well worth subscribing to).

As Steve explains:

“It means to provide facts without a plan for how the customer will understand those facts. It means to think that the content of what needs to be delivered is more important than the way it is delivered. It means to be more focused on what you're saying than how it sounds to your customer.”

It's a problem you see with a lot of charity communications.  There is nothing wrong with the words or messages per se, but they just don't touch or move you like a good piece of music does. 

All the necessary information is conveyed but it doesn't create an experience that, according to Steve, "makes it easy and inviting to hear your information and to understand it."

Steve's advice for changing this makes a lot of sense:

"You don't need to literally sing your communications! But what you do need to do is take a cue from music, and ensure that the way you communicate information, along with the timing by which you communicate it, adds interest, excitement, passion and color, the way a well-performed composition makes a page of sheet music come alive."

Sound advice and if you can make your communications sing then you are going to attract a lot of donors.

BONUS, COMPLETELY UNRELATED EXTRA:  Steve's article reminded me of one of my dad's favourite Morecambe & Wise sketches featuring Andre Previn and the classic line about playing all the right notes, just not necessarily in the right order.  I've include the YouTube clip below: