The start of good conversation …
It’s a
wonderful
word
How to write for impact
A
useful, practical and rather magical
White Paper from Twelve PR
© July 2011
Twelve PR
South Court
Noral Way
Banbury
OX16 2AF
T: 01295 258552
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“Writing, when properly managed, is but a different
name for conversation.”
This pithy little gem was written 250 years ago. Its message couldn’t be more
relevant today, because creating engaging ‘conversations’ is the apogee of
good 21st century communications.
Apparently writing is making a comeback. (We weren’t aware it had ever gone
away.) What has happened is that people and companies are using a lot more
words in a lot more ways a lot more frequently. It’s very noisy indeed out there and
that’s largely down to the internet.
We also have the internet to thank for new ways of writing: Twitter, texting, social
networking sites and blogging have put a premium on sharpness; conciseness; fast
thinking; opinion sharing and informality.
We believe this is good news for writing. There will always be a place for deep,
reflective prose, but over the past few decades too much writing has become
pompous, cluttered, bloated and clogged with an epidemic of jargon. Business,
politics, lawyers, academics – and yes, sometimes the public relations industry –
have adulterated the English language to such an extent that it stops communication
in its tracks and makes the process of understanding akin to wading through treacle.
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For deliberate obfuscation, think politician-speak: the euphemisms; the
sheer cloudy vagueness; the responses which beg more questions than
provide answers.
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For unintentional obfuscation (at least some of the time) think impenetrable
business-speak: the bewildering language of the MBA; the bland mission
statement; the turgid business report; the piece of writing where meaning is
totally obscured by wallpaper words; the legalese that shrinks away in the
small print.
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Then there is the double speak: the words full of promise that belie the
experience; the companies that ‘talk the talk’ but don’t actually deliver.
Today’s consumers of products, services and communications will no longer stand
for this. And we have the internet to thank for that too. Bad writing will not break
through the communications hyper-babble. Ease of access to information means
we are more in control of the messages we’re prepared to receive than ever before.
We are impatient, cynical, discerning, time poor, used to high levels of stimulus,
savvy in corporate ways and very much part of the conversation.
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We readily take issue with the words used by leaders and pundits across every
sector and while the words you write may have a more limited target audience than
that of a politician or the boss of a multinational, they can be ignored, outrage,
switch off, confuse or provoke action (positive and negative) in just the same way.
Whatever you’re writing – letter, business report, article, brochure, blog – the
fundamentals of good writing will never change. People’s expectations and
attention spans have. We want to be able to read quickly and easily. This means
you have a limited amount of time to get your message across, so what you write
needs to be clear; targeted; memorable; engaging; persuasive and succinct.
Before we look at some of these fundamentals in more detail, let’s take a quick look
at some of the myths of good writing.
Myth 1: Good writing is easy
It isn’t if you want to do it well. Good writing is as much about thinking as putting
pen to paper or finger to keyboard. If you write something of importance to you or
your company without thinking through what you’re trying to achieve, or going
through a pretty brutal editing process, you can be fairly certain it won’t be as good
as it could be.
Myth 2: The more I write, the more it shows the reader I know my stuff
Wrong. None of us has the time to read reams of dense, self-important, inflated
puffery. In fact, the more you know and understand your subject, the more succinct
and incisive you should be. Never confuse brevity with ignorance and laziness. The
opposite is true. It is more challenging to write a brief but meaningful piece than to
regurgitate everything you know.
Myth 3: I need to sound professional
Too often ‘sounding professional’ is a euphemism for using pompous, wooden,
impersonal, utilitarian language which acts as a barrier rather than conduit to
communication and puts your own interests, rather than the reader’s, first.
Myth 4: Long words and the latest management speak make me sound clever
No. They obscure meaning, confuse and irritate the reader and make your words
interchangeable with any other meaningless corporate speak. They are often an
excuse for disguising lack of knowledge and failure to do a job properly.
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Myth 5: It’s a technical subject, therefore I must use technical language and
industry jargon
Technical subject matter is no excuse for not writing well. In fact, the more technical
the subject matter, the more clearly and succinctly you need to explain it.
Myth 6: It’s all about dotting the ‘I’s and crossing the ‘T’s
The pedants are sticklers for accurate spelling and flawless grammar. They will
passionately debate the use of singular ‘they’, split infinitives, the dangling
participle, the misplacement of adverbs. You’ll find them all bristling with
indignation online. Good spelling and grammar do matter. Of course they do. But a
really sparkling, engaging piece of prose matters more.
Myth 7: It’s all about tapping into my creative potential
That may be (partly) true if you’re writing a novel, but not when you’re writing for
business. It really is a case of 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. If you start
writing for business from the premise that it’s simply a showcase for your creativity
you run the risk of miring your messages in irrelevant, impenetrable waffle.
Universal principles
1. Before you write a word, get to the guts of what you want to say: be clear
about why you want to say it and – above all – who will want to read it.
2. Put yourself into the reader’s shoes and write to the reader’s interests,
rather than yours.
3. At the same time, know what impression you want the reader to take away
from reading your words – and what you would like them to do.
4. Whatever you’re writing always write to the ‘who, what, why, where, when
and how’ of the topic. How you interpret these magical essentials is partly
down to the type of communication and partly down to you – except in the
case of news releases when you need to incorporate all of them (if possible) in
the first paragraph.
5. For longer pieces of writing, like articles or business reports, the coherence
of your argument, thesis or proposition, logical sequencing and powerfully
persuasive language are paramount. Forget beautifully crafted prose in the
first instance. Focus initially on the main sections or headings and summarise
the key points you want to communicate under each. Then comes the crafting
and ensuring that your narrative flows so that the reader is pulled
compellingly (and winningly) along with you.
6. Write something you would want to read yourself; develop your bull****
detector and apply it mercilessly. Keep it personal and write in human terms.
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7. Be sincere; be yourself; never say anything you wouldn’t say in
conversation; shed the language of the business school.
“The great enemy of clear language is insincerity. When there is a gap
between one’s real and one’s declared aims, one turns, as it were,
instinctively to long words and exhausted idioms, like a cuttlefish
squirting out ink.” George Orwell
8. Practice may not make absolutely perfect, but it certainly improves the
quality of writing.
9. Edit; edit; edit. Always ask yourself if you could say what you need to say in
fewer words; better words; more precise words. Less is often more.
10. Understand what you’re writing about and don’t over explain. Keep it
simple. Making a complicated subject simple to understand is a real art
form. If you don’t know your subject inside out research it – any lack of
knowledge will show in your writing.
11. Get rid of overused words and phrases, clichés, verbal camouflage and
euphemisms. Writer, raconteur and gay icon Quentin Crisp once described
euphemisms as ‘unpleasant truths wearing diplomatic perfume’. There
are occasions when a euphemism – the substitution of an inoffensive term for
one which is explicitly offensive – may be justified. But euphemisms in
business and political circles are too often about disguising unpleasant
actions, dehumanizing, pretension and excessive political correctness.
12. Read other people’s writing.
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Examples of euphemisms: can you work out what they mean?
Sanitation engineer
Transparent wall maintenance officer
Cemetery operative
Correctional facility
Cut budget excesses
Assisted living facility
Terminological inexactitude
Post-kinetic development
Socially responsible public investments
Depressed socio-economic area
Negative cash flow position
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
?
The Plain English Campaign website www.plainenglish.co.uk offers lots of useful
advice on overused, meaningless, inflated, words, phrases and language to avoid. A
poll of the most irritating phrases in the English language put ‘at the end of the day’
at the top of the list of offenders, with ‘at this moment in time’ and ‘with all due
respect’ following close behind.
Other over-used, ‘wallpaper’ phrases to steer clear of are:
‘win-win situation’
‘pushing the
‘value-added’
envelope’
‘blue-sky thinking’
‘singing from the same hymn sheet’
‘deliverables’
‘think outside the box’
‘bottom line’
You have been warned!
Use them at peril of losing your reader.
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A word about great beginnings, endings and headings
Great beginnings capture interest and seduce the reader into carrying on. Great
endings leave the reader satisfied, thoughtful, surprised, or curious to find out
more. Headings and subheadings (not always necessary) can provide a valuable
function as the scaffolding for your thesis, the signposts to the direction your piece is
taking and the hook for recapturing waning interest.
More specifically:
Headlines and headings need to pack an immediate punch. They need to break
through the barriers of indifference, ignite curiosity and speak to the interests of the
reader, client prospect or news editor. There’s no point trying to be too clever with
words: you need to focus on encapsulating whatever message is most likely to pull
the reader through to the first few sentences and beyond.
Beginnings must convince the reader that what follows is worth their time and
attention. Have very firmly in mind the ‘who, what, where, when, why and how’.
Your first two or three sentences must intrigue, carry weight, relevance and
authority and have impact. The rest of your copy is an expansion on these opening
sentences and a validation of their opening promise.
Endings should come at exactly the right time. They may leave the reader yearning
for more (and that might be your intention); they may end with a provocative thought
or a surprise; they may be a succinct summation of what has gone before, an
irresistible prod to take action or a completely satisfying affirmation of your
viewpoint or proposition. The nature and objective of the piece will influence the
type of ending, but as William Zinsser says in his seminal book ‘On Writing Well’
‘When you’re ready to stop, stop’.
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Do you recognise these great beginnings?
I stand before you today, the representative of a family in grief, in a country
in mourning, before a world in shock.
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good
fortune, must be in want of a wife.
All children, except one, grow up.
Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.
It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.
If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.
Do you recognise these great endings?
He loved Big Brother.
It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far
better rest that I go to than I have ever known.
But, in spite of these deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the confidence, the
predictions of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony, were
fully answered in the perfect happiness of the union.
And the ashes blew towards us with the salt wind from the sea.
"After all, tomorrow is another day!"
Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!
Answers at end of document
The ‘How To’ section
In the ‘How to’ section, we’re going to look at three types of writing that are
particularly valuable to your business. We’re not going to do the obvious and give
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you our top tips on ‘how to write a press release’ (although feel free to ask us).
We’re going to look at writing website copy, blogs and case studies.
Top twelve on blogs
Blogs are often the most popular part of a company’s website because the visitor
knows that this is the place they may find something of genuine value, free
(hopefully) from corporate speak and hard sell. (More of this later.)
It’s your opportunity to convey your company’s personality, values and credibility.
1. Love your subject. Know what you’re writing about inside out. Blogs are a
vehicle for people with a passion for and / or real expertise in something.
2. Write regularly and keep them short. On average, the blog reader will
give you 96 seconds of their time – and only if the title and first sentence or
two have grabbed their attention. (Some will say a blog needs to be as long as
it needs to be. Possibly true if you have a national name or write for a national
newspaper, but otherwise we think four to five paragraphs is both the
optimum length for the reader and the writer)
3. For short do not read shallow. Just because you don’t ramble or over-write
doesn’t mean your blog must lack depth.
4. Be prepared to be a little bit provocative. This is NOT the place for a
company puff. This is about personal viewpoint.
5. If you’re writing an independent blog you can afford to be more
controversial, but not simply for the sake of it. It could work against you.
Creating a distinct voice is not all about whipping up a constant stream of bile
and malice (unless you’re Charlie Brooker!).
6. Your blog must have a central, easily identifiable point. This sounds
obvious but at the other end of the spectrum from corporate speak is the
equally heinous crime of unleashing a stream of self-regarding, purposeless
verbiage. People will only want to read your blog if you have something
relevant to say about a subject that interests them.
7. There’s a distinction between self-regarding verbiage and making it
personal though. Recounting your own experiences in relation to your topic,
addressing the reader directly (‘Like me, you might find…’), even introducing
a bit of home life (‘I was waiting for the kettle to boil this morning when it
occurred to me…’) can all help to build rapport and intimacy.
8. Be generous with your know-how. Everyone loves to share in the secrets of
success.
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9. Don’t just punch your blog out in the vain hope that someone will read it.
You need to work hard to make sure it’s read in all the right places so give it
an attention grabbing heading
10. Timing can be everything. If you’re responding to a news item you need to
do so quickly.
11. Incorporating images and video in your blog can help to heighten
impact.
12. ‘Work’ the conversation. Encourage the reader to interact with you. Ask
them a question; seek their opinion; issue a challenge. Similarly get involved
with relevant conversations elsewhere.
Top twelve on websites
Your company (or personal) website is your one-stop showcase for who you are,
what you offer and why you’d be great to work with (or for). This section is not about
copywriting for SEO. This section is about how to make the words on your website
work for the visitor and for you.
The words you use and how they’re presented, structured and integrated with
imagery, graphics and video heavily influence the experience the visitor has at your
site. Did they manage to find what they were looking for in a couple of clicks, or did
they have to scrutinise every pixel of the home page to find a vaguely related link?
Did your introductory copy neatly, accessibly and engagingly summarise who you
are, or did it leave the reader baffled and none the wiser?
The best way to figure out what works and what doesn’t is to visit a few websites and
analyse for yourself how effective they are. To get you started, we’ve included a few
award winners and sites we like, but here are a few of our top tips.
1. Navigability is joint sovereign with quality of content. People want to find
what they are looking for intuitively and fast.
2. Your home page is the shop window / gateway to the rest of the site.
Make sure it’s like a sweet shop and that the visitor wants to ‘go in’.
3. The best websites ‘chunk’ text appealingly, clearly and with equal weight
(often with attractive images or video links) under all the category headings
the visitor might be interested in.
4. Reader attention spans are short and often they know exactly what they
are looking for. Give them a snapshot of the more in-depth information they
can expect to be led to via the link.
5. Even on the in-depth pages, keep the number of words in check: 250 – 400
words maximum; any more than that and you should perhaps be thinking of
a White Paper!
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6. Avoid long lines of text; they are very difficult on the eye and brain.
7. Use the minimum number of words when explaining something complex;
try bringing the concept to life with a combination of graphics and words.
And the rest of the tips are recommendations for sites where words are used to the
best possible effect.
8. www.nationalgeographic.co.uk - stunning imagery; fascinating content;
beautifully written; lots of points of interest (like ‘Today’s Question’ and ‘Photo
of the Day’); clear navigation; simple but powerful statement of purpose
alongside the logo.
9. www.the99percent.com - the think tank arm of the Behance networking, a
leading platform for creative professionals across all industries: modern,
clean design; powerfully written articles on topical, relevant, thoughtprovoking subjects; excellent graphics; wonderfully engaging home page
10. www.thersa.org - (ideas and action for 21st century enlightenment): powerful
statement of purpose; clean, clear, engaging, elegant; succinct intros to
interesting research – you only get in depth what you want in depth; lectures
by some of the world’s most respected authorities innovatively brought to life
through Animate.
11. www.innocentdrinks.co.uk - quirky; intimate, chatty style of writing; clear
personality shining through the words, reinforcing the brand; lots of
interesting features; even investment information is presented in an
accessible way; adverse publicity tackled head on with candour.
12. www.bupa.co.uk - Plain English campaign award winner for easily
accessible, clearly explained information and advice on (sometimes
complicated) healthcare issues.
Top twelve on case studies
Case studies are a great way of showing clients and potential clients how good you
are at what you do. They can be used on your website, by your sales team, in your
company newsletter, as part of a direct mail or media relations campaign, at trade
shows … the marketing opportunities are virtually limitless. But the key to a great
case study is that it should always be about them and not you, ‘them’ being the client
who had the problem … and found the solution through you.
Case studies sell stories with happy endings, not products.
1. Get the structure right before you start writing. Irrelevant waffle will lose
the reader. You may be telling a story about your client, but you still need to
communicate the salient points in a logical and powerful way.
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2. Whet the appetite and highlight the relevance of the case study with an
attention-grabbing title which encapsulates the essence of issue and the
solution.
3. It’s a good idea to expand on the title before you get into the ‘meat’ of the
case study, perhaps through a customer quote or a few bullet points which
summarise the qualitative and quantitative outcomes.
4. A word on quotes: they are well worth including, but must be believable and
written in the way that someone would speak.
5. The credibility and marketing potential of the case study will be
strengthened if you begin by briefly outlining the general challenge the
client’s industry faces before identifying the specific challenge your client
faced.
6. Explore the issues surrounding the problem, the importance of finding a
solution and the critical success factors for that solution.
7. Move on to describe the specific solution to the specific problem, how it
was implemented, who was involved, what was involved.
8. Quantify and qualify the benefits.
9. Then pull back out to describe how similar solutions could apply to the
sector as a whole.
10.The case study needs to pack a punch at the end, leaving the reader with a
strong impression that your company might also be able to help them. A
hard-hitting quote may work, particularly if your client is senior and wellknown in the sector. A simple chart summarising the challenge and the
benefits of the solution could also work well.
11.Avoid jargon; spell out acronyms; use action verbs to inject life; use
subheadings as a signpost for the reader; be economical with words but make
them lively and natural – two sides of A4, with photos, is ample.
12.Don’t forget to include all your contact details!
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How did you do with our Great Beginnings and Great Endings’
quiz?
DO YOU RECOGNISE THESE GREAT BEGINNINGS?
‘I stand before you today, the representative of a family in grief, in a country in
mourning, before a world in shock.’
Earl Spencer’s eulogy at the funeral of Princess Diana
‘It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good
fortune, must be in want of a wife.’
Jane Austen’s Pride and Predjudice
‘All children, except one, grow up.’
J M Barrie’s Peter Pan
‘Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.’
Tolstoy’s Anna Karenina
‘It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.’
George Orwell’s 1984
‘If music be the food of love, play on;
Give me excess of it, that, surfeiting,
The appetite may sicken, and so die.’
Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night
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DO YOU RECOGNISE THESE GREAT ENDINGS?
‘He loved Big Brother.’
George Orwell’s 1984
‘It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I
go to than I have ever known.’
Charles Dicken’s A Tale of Two Cities
‘But, in spite of these deficiencies, the wishes, the hopes, the confidence, the
predictions of the small band of true friends who witnessed the ceremony, were fully
answered in the perfect happiness of the union.’
Jane Austen’s Emma
‘And the ashes blew towards us with the salt wind from the sea.’
Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca
‘After all, tomorrow is another day!’
Scarlett O’Hara in Gone with the Wind
‘Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!’
Martin Luther King’s ‘I have a dream’ speech
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