The writers of Sesame Street are masters at this. And in fact, you can keep their model in mind as you craft your own messages — from articles to workshops to any information product in between — even if you’re not aiming at the preschool crowd.

Here are the lessons I got from watching an “Elmo’s World” segment the other day:

• Stick to basics; there’s no question too obvious (“Do telephones have birthdays?”).
• There is an unlimited amount of ways to talk about any given topic. Scott has written numerous articles on one narrow but highly searched topic around resumes: The Summary section.
• Give just a little bit of information at a time. This is good to keep in mind when writing articles or planning a workshop; a little at a time is not only fine but preferable!
  
• Repeat, with variations. Reminds me of the age-old advice about speeches: Tell ‘em what you’re going to say, say it, then tell ‘em what you said.
  
• Let your audience tell you the answer. Or, you could say, Let them feel smart or Show them how much they know. A lot of kids’ shows do this – the actor or character plays dumb so the kids, those on the show/soundtrack and those watching, shout out the next step or the right answer.
• Enthusiasm is contagious.
  
• Use humor.
  
• Make everybody feel included. Sesame Street has been a pioneer of this since its inception, showing people of every shade and ability.
• Include cute things whenever possible. Animals, babies, smiling faces — I guess this is to make an emotional connection. I’ve certainly read enough email newsletters about people’s cats to turn me off for a lifetime. But done right, meaning when the connection is topical, it’s good. For example, have you met Havi’s duck, Selma?

Which of these ideas seems most do-able to you? Leave a comment and let us know.