Nine of my top tips to help you improve your writing

FOCUS ON YOUR AUDIENCE

Who is your reader? Who do you want to reach with your story? Will they understand the subject you are writing about? Are they investors, patients, or other experts in the field??

Each of these audiences has a different understanding and different needs. Tailor your writing accordingly. One size content doesn’t fit all.

FIND YOUR STORY

What is the most important piece of information? Make sure you focus on that and only write about the information the audience really needs to know.

USE THE?INVERTED PYRAMID

Start with what’s important. Summarise the nub of the story in one short, impactful sentence. Then add the other important facts and pieces of information in a logical order from most important to the least so. Learn more about the Inverted Pyramid.

KEEP THINGS SHORT

Don’t lose your message in long sentences. It can be tricky to retain key information from sentences that go on and on. Keep them as short as you can (around the 20-25 words mark should do). Top Tip: Read the tabloids, particularly the Red Tops – see how their intros brilliantly summarise the complex story in just a few words.

BE HUMAN

People relate to people, not businesses. They want personal, not corporate. So, make your writing friendly and approachable by using “I” or “we” and try to use a person to tell your story. So, if your company is launching a new charity initiative, write your story from the point of view of one of the volunteers – why they have volunteered and what it means to them.

DITCH THE CORPORATE CLAPTRAP

As above, people relate to people, not businesses. Use every day, conversational language that is easy to understand. Corporate Claptrap will lose you your audience.?

BE ACTIVE, NOT PASSIVE

Think about your sentence construction and use the active voice, not the passive. So, use: “Thousands of people could benefit from a new drug” instead of: “A new drug could benefit thousands of people”. It makes your writing stronger, more direct, and clearer.

SCRUTINISE YOUR COPY

Is there information missing? Have you made a statement without backing it up? I am famed among my colleagues for what they have dubbed “The Jo Willey ‘So what?’ Factor”. Because I am always asking “So what?” to everything I am told. Why? Because the devil is in the detail and you can’t just make a statement without adding the all-important context. It is that context that tells the actual story and enables people to fully understand what you are saying and why it is important. What do I mean? For example, you could write: “Clinical trials have shown our product is highly effective” and think that is all you need to say. But when I read that, I automatically think: “So what? How effective is highly effective and what is it highly effective at doing and to whom?”. It doesn’t really tell anyone anything without that extra context. So, instead, try: “Clinical trials have shown our product is highly effective at reducing pain by xx% in people suffering long-term pain. This could help thousands of people in Britain who live with daily, chronic pain.”.

READ AND EDIT

The key with any writing is to re-read it and then edit it. Make sure it is clear, snappy, tells a story, garners attention and uses conversational language.

Jo Willey Media is a content, training and communications consultancy. We provide tailored media training sessions to ensure spokespeople, academics and executives can effectively communicate with the media, delivering key messages with confidence and clarity to make the most of every interview opportunity. Contact us today and let’s discuss your training needs further.