writing with appeal 1 writing with appeal prepared by: kevin crowley, director: communications &...

Writing with appealWriting with appeal

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Writing with Writing with AppealAppeal

Prepared by:Kevin Crowley, Director: Communications & Public

Affairsand

Lori Chalmers Morrison, Associate Director: Communications & Public Affairs


Writing — the foundation of communication Writing — the foundation of communication - Reports

- Emails

- Website announcements, notices and articles

- Newsletters

- Cover letters

- News releases

- Social media

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Hard writing makes easy reading. Easy writing makes hard reading.

William Zinsser


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1. The questions to ask before your fingers hit the keyboard

2. The main ingredients in effective writing

3. The icing on the cake

4. Exercises to bring the lessons to life

Today we’ll learn:Today we’ll learn:


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I keep six honest serving menThey taught me all I knew;Their names are What and Why and Whenand How and Where and Who

Rudyard Kipling


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Think of it like a dinner party:

1. Who are your guests? The intended audience for your writing.

1. What are you serving? The message you want your readers to take away.

1. What will make the food appetizing to them? The “what’s in it for me?” message for the reader.

Questions to ask before your fingers hit the Questions to ask before your fingers hit the keyboardkeyboard


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You’ve been asked to write a web notice to promote a guest speaker coming to Laurier to talk about climate change.

Let’s answer the dinner party questions as a group:

Who are your guests?

What are you serving?

What makes it appetizing?

Exercise Exercise


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You’ve planned the dinner party — now let’s get the ingredients necessary to serve your dish with style:

1. Choose an appropriate tone2. Write tight – no unnecessary words3. Strive for clarity and simplicity4. Choose the active voice over the passive5. Avoid jargon and clichés6. Check facts

The main ingredients in effective writingThe main ingredients in effective writing


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Your behavior while attending church is different from your behavior while hanging out in the back yard with friends…and part of that difference is the difference in language, a difference not just in the words we use but in what we call tone.

Capital Community College Foundation

The 1The 1stst ingredient: APPROPRIATE TONE ingredient: APPROPRIATE TONE


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Sing the right tune: match your tone to your audience

“Break open that piggy bank and throw some coin Dr. Smith’s way!”

“By funding Dr. Smith’s research, you can help fight cancer and ease the suffering of millions of people.”

The 1The 1stst ingredient: APPROPRIATE TONE ingredient: APPROPRIATE TONE


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The 2The 2ndnd ingredient: WRITE TIGHT ingredient: WRITE TIGHT

The present letter is a very long one, simply because I had no leisure to make it shorter.Blaise Pascal

All writing is a process of elimination.Martha Albrand


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Put your writing on the cutting board: chop unnecessary words

Short phrases are better than long clauses Long clause: The manager, who was located in the corner office, was overworked.Short phrase: The manager in the corner office was overworked.

Single words are better than phrasesPhrase: The student with the highest grades studied constantly.Single word: The top student studied constantly.

Precise words are better than redundant expressionsAssemble (together); (armed) gunman; (advance) planning

Use as few punctuation marks as possible – they interrupt the flow

The 2The 2ndnd ingredient: WRITE TIGHT ingredient: WRITE TIGHT


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Style is simply the way in which you put words together when you are writing… The essence of good style, I believe, is simplicity.

Writer Craig Lock

The 3The 3rdrd ingredient: CLARITY & SIMPLICITY ingredient: CLARITY & SIMPLICITY


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Put these sentences on the cutting board:

1. The decision that was made by the board was completely unanimous – 3 a.m. in the morning was very late to finish a meeting.

2. Despite rigid re-examination of all experimental variables, this protocol continued to produce data at variance with our subsequently proven hypothesis.

3. With respect to the questions and objections that were raised by you in your letter to me regarding the matter of the rent payment sum that was prepaid in advance by you at the beginning of March of last year, it has come to my attention that there are clarifications I need to make.

ExerciseExercise


“The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive.”

The Elements of StyleStrunk & White

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The 4The 4THTH ingredient: THE ACTIVE VOICE ingredient: THE ACTIVE VOICE


Get your subject up off the couch: use the active voice

Passive voice: subject receives the action Active voice: subject performs the action

Passive: The apple was eaten by the worm.Active: The worm ate the apple.

Passive: A dance will be performed by the Hawk at the game.Active: The Hawk will dance at the game.

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The 4The 4THTH ingredient: THE ACTIVE VOICE ingredient: THE ACTIVE VOICE


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Change these passive sentences to the active voice:

1. The exam is being written by the psychology students.

2. The coffee was poured by the Tim Horton’s employee.

3. Action on the proposal is being considered by the Senate.

4. Statistical analysis has been performed on the research results.

ExerciseExercise


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“A cliché is a sure and certain way to dilute an idea.”Solomon Short (David Gerrold)

The 5The 5thth ingredient: AVOID JARGON & CLICHÉS ingredient: AVOID JARGON & CLICHÉS


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If your mother (who probably doesn’t work with you) can’t understand it, then there’s a good chance your reader won’t.

Why say: “Let’s interface about the potential ROI of submitting an RFP.”

When you could say: “Let’s discuss if it’s worth submitting a proposal.”

Learning outcomes resultsMonetize sell for cashParadigm shift significant changePurposeful intentionalHolistic well-rounded or integrated



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“We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to reduce the operating budget.”

“We’re taking an innovative and unique approach…”

“The downturn in the economy has really pulled the rug out from under us, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.”


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Make a list of the top three Laurier or university-specific jargon or clichés you use in your communications.

Let’s cook up some alternative wording!

ExerciseExercise


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“Fast is fine, but accuracy is everything.”Xenophon

Incorrect facts have the same effect on your credibility as bad grammar: check your facts!!

The 6The 6thth ingredient: CORRECT FACTS ingredient: CORRECT FACTS


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Bring your voice to your writing

Engage your reader

The icing on the cake!The icing on the cake!


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Voice: the writer’s personality and unique way of expressing things.

Voice lends itself to a natural style, which is easy to read.

The more you write, the more you will find your voice, and the more others will recognize it.

The icing on the cake: bringing your voice to your The icing on the cake: bringing your voice to your writingwriting


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“He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish. In the first forty days a boy had been with him. But after forty days without a fish the boy's parents had told him that the old man was now definitely and finally salao, which is the worst form of unlucky, and the boy had gone at their orders in another boat which caught three good fish the first week.”

The icing on the cake: the writer’s voiceThe icing on the cake: the writer’s voice


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“She stands up in the garden where she has been working and looks into the distance. She has sensed a shift in the weather. There is another gust of wind, a buckle of noise in the air, and the tall cypresses sway. She turns and moves uphill toward the house, climbing over a low wall, feeling the first drops of rain on her bare arms. She crosses the loggia and quickly enters the house.”

The icing on the cake: the writer’s voiceThe icing on the cake: the writer’s voice


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Start with an interesting title, headline or subject line

The headline is the most important piece of writing in any story. It must convince the reader to read on. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter how great the rest of the story is.

Effective headlines are short, punchy and intriguing. Humour and puns can work, but only when appropriate.

The icing on the cake: headlinesThe icing on the cake: headlines


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Worms in space (news release)

Barbie, Bulimia and Botox (course title)

The future is coming, panic now! (lecture sub-title)

Fish research nets reward(headline)

The icing on the cake: headlinesThe icing on the cake: headlines


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Yoga teacher bends to student demands

Rampaging rooster attacks girl

Scientists get to the bottom of what makes whoopee cushions

‘Dressed to Kilt’ for Robbie Burns Day

Brad Pitt to speak at Laurier

The icing on the cake: more headlinesThe icing on the cake: more headlines


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… follow with an enticing lead (first paragraph) or hook….

- The 5 Ws (inverted pyramid)- Paint a picture- Anecdotes

The content of your lead depends on the purpose of your writing.

The icing on the cake: engage your readerThe icing on the cake: engage your reader


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… then keep them interested …

The importance of YOU in persuasive writing and marketing – even in emails.

Makes readers feel like the material relates to them.



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Show, don’t tell: paint a picture for your reader

If readers can imagine it, or picture it, it becomes more relevant to them.

DescriptionsSimilesMetaphors(Even statistics!)



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Use humour (but keep it tasteful!)

Use sparingly and only if it’s appropriate for your audience

PunsFunny anecdotes



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"A lot of writing is re-writing, and for me, it's six re-writes minimum, unless I'm lucky, then it might be five."

Margaret Atwood

“There is no great writing, only great re-writing.”Justice Brandeis


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- Read it out loud — revise anything that makes you stumble

- Rewrite

- Revise

- Edit

- Have someone else proof read your work

And finally…the taste test!And finally…the taste test!


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“Stuart, who was sitting in the ditch — not far from the road, which was dusty and dry — got up to climb into his automobile, a Pontiac, which was itself sitting in that dusty road. Behind the wheel of the car, which was brand new, Stuart started up the road, and that road, which was full of potholes, led toward the north. The sun was coming up over the hills – big hills, which were on his right. As he looked ahead into the land — very broad, dry, and flat land — it stretched before him, and the way seemed like it was going to be long.”

“Stuart rose from the ditch, climbed into his car, and started up the road that led toward the north. The sun was just coming up over the hills on his right. As he peered ahead into the great land that stretched before him, the way seemed long. But the sky was bright, and somehow he felt he was headed in the right direction.”

Read it out loud!Read it out loud!


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Exercise: The dinner party!Exercise: The dinner party!

Let’s take the answers to the essential questions we developed in the first exercise.

Now it’s time to write the web notice promoting the lecture on climate change.

Include a title, lead sentence and one paragraph. Check back against the essential questions, the main ingredients and the icing on the cake.

Don’t forget the taste test!


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1. Identify your audience: who am I writing this for?

2. Understand your objective: what do I hope to achieve?

3. Choose an appropriate tone

4. Strive for clarity and simplicity

5. Write tight—no unnecessary words

6. Choose the active voice over the passive

7. Choose strong, clear verbs

8. Avoid clichés and jargon

9. Read your writing out loud—revise anything that makes you stumble

10. Rewrite, revise, edit

Top 10 writing tipsTop 10 writing tips


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QUESTIONS?QUESTIONS?

writing with appeal 1 writing with appeal prepared by: kevin crowley, director: communications &...

Documents

effective writing slide

hard writing

easy writing

keyboard slide

appropriate tone slide

exercise slide

william zinsser slide

rudyard kipling slide