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You may have heard the tale of how, in the 1920s, Ernest Hemingway bet ten dollars that he could write a complete story in just six words. He wrote: “For Sale: baby shoes, never worn.”  He won the bet and often referred to the story as his best work ever.

There are now dozens of websites devoted to six-word stories (just try Googling it). One of the best, recently featured on Radio 4, is from US online magazine Smith, which tweaked the rules by asking its readers to sum up their own lives in just six words.

The results are surprisingly poignant; often funny (”No more kisses, whisker burn lingers.”), sometimes sad (”Two sons. One died; now none.”), sometimes regretful (”Wishing I’d jumped sooner, missed mark.”), even a little scary (”He seemed ok at the time”). You should try it; we did.

As business copywriters, we’re always banging on about conciseness and short sentences. And while we don’t expect you to turn your firm’s client newsletters, your website or your marketing material into heart-wrenching six-word stories (wouldn’t that be fun, though!), it’s a reminder of just how emotional and powerful words can be, even just six of the little blighters.

So think of that, next time you’re trying to explain to your boss why your ten word sentence is better than his 30-word jargon fest.

When he wasn’t busy painting masterpieces or inventing helicopters, all-round-Renaissance man Leonardo da Vinci found was one of the leading thinkers of his day.

He was a simple man though, Da Vinci. The illegitimate son of a country girl and a rural notary, he regarded simplicity as the foundation of his genius. His motto was: “simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.”

Although writing wasn’t one his greatest strengths, we can learn a lot from the bearded Florentine.

Simplicity is at the core of great copywriting. The sentences that work best are the ones that use simple, clear, straightforward language and structure. A sentence doesn’t get better the more words you stuff into it. On the contrary, it almost invariably gets worse.

Many people fall in to the trap of over-writing, trying to sound more impressive or to demonstrate their knowledge by using unnecessary words or flowery phrases.

But the most effective corporate writers make their point quickly and clearly. They use precise words and simple phrasing.

Don’t write:
“The company does not intend to remove the automatic bollards, but it is necessary to carry out repairs to the bollards for the purpose of keeping them operating effectively.”

Keep it clear and simple:
“The company does not intend to remove the automatic bollards, but it must repair them to keep them working properly.”

Or how about:
“Overestimating on one type of the relevant material could have a detrimental impact on cost-effectiveness for the client.”

Instead of:
“Overestimating one type of material could cost the clients more.”

So next time you’re tempted to throw in a few ‘corporate’ sounding phrases or flowery language to sound more sophisticated, just remember the words of our old friend Leonardo da Vinci. If simplicity was good enough for him, it’s darn tootin’ good enough for me.

Let’s hear it for Richard Pring! The Oxford University professor was cheered at a education conference earlier this month when he called for an end to the  ‘Orwellian’ language often used in education.

The public sector is renowned for its love of jargon-tastic ’strategies’, convoluted policy phrasing and incomprehensible sentences. It’s not just annoying, it betrays a worrying lack of engagement with the reader - which can be a dangerous a thing when you consider that it’s us, the readers, that public servants are supposed to be ’serving’.

In sectors such as education, the risks are even greater, turning something that should be  about effective communication and clarity and sharing knowledge, into a confusing, opaque world that replaces the simple, basic tenets of education with jargon and management-speak.

Pring calls for an end to delivery and a return to teaching. No more new providers, but plenty more new schools. Enough of performance indicators, how about the quality of teaching?

Oxford professors aren’t generally renowned for their straight-talking , but Professor Pring is right on the button. Let’s hope the policy wonks at the education department (and elsewhere) were listening.

Our word of the month is confabulation (noun). It means familiar chat or informal talk.

Example: “I took Justine by the arm and led her onto the balcony, determined to distract her with a spot of romantic confabulation.”

Or: “You boys, cease your incessant confabulation before I inform the headmaster.”

There is no standard list of rules to follow that is guaranteed to turn us all into first class copywriters. (Or if there is, I haven’t found it yet.)  There are, however, dozens of ‘non-rules’ that can hinder even the most accomplished writer. 
Drilled into us at school by overzealous English teachers, or trotted out by misinformed friends and colleagues, many of them can be safely discarded. Doing so usually results in simpler, more flowing and engaging writing.
Here are six of the most common ‘writing myths’, as collated by Martin Cutts, author of The Quick Reference Plain English Guide:

As well as being a business copywriter with Wordsworks, I’ve been a journalist for over 12 years now (yikes!) And if there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to irritate a journalist (all of them, not just grumpy old men like me, honest), it’s bad quotes. I’ve seen so many press releases where quotes are used as an excuse to reproduce a sentence or two of marketing spiel or some bland self-congratulatory nonsense. Keep it snappy and make it sound like a quote.

Instead of saying: “It’s evidence that the integrated, holistic partnership approach implemented by John Smith Ltd in delivering dynamic sustainable engineering solutions to a range of clients across multiple industry sectors is continuing to reap rewards for the company.” Which a) isn’t a quote, unless the speaker is an android and b) is dripping with meaningless management jargon. Keep it brief, to the point and above all, quotable: “It’s a big boost. It was hard work and there were more than a few late nights involved, but the whole team worked very hard to secure the new contract.”

Similarly, why bother with something like, “We’d like to welcome Joe Bloggs to the team. He’s a lovely man and we’re all looking forward to working with him.” It’s hardly going to set any news editors or readers alight with excitement. Always try and make sure that your quote actually adds something to the story, or don’t use one at all.

This entry is taken from our monthly WriteWords newsletter. Each month, WriteWords contains a top secret tip that you can use to improve your writing. You can sign up here.

photo credit: Timothy Lloyd 

I had an interesting discussion recently with a lawyer I was writing an article for. It illustrates one of the key lessons of good writing that all of us, not just lawyers, can learn from.

He’d asked Wordsworks to help write an article a general business magazine. It was about current sentiment in the corporate finance market. In the notes the lawyer gave me and in our conversations, he insisted on using complex terminology and industry jargon.

I suggested that it would make more sense, given the audience, to ditch the jargon and instead explain the issues in simple, easy-to-understand language.  He responded that, “I have to use jargon to show people I know what I’m talking about.”

This shows a common but dangerous confusion about the purpose of business writing. You’re unlikely to impress your readers (often potential clients) by using jargon and terminology that they may not understand.  You are in effect saying, look how well I understand my business. But what is more relevant to your readers, is how much you understand their business. And that means using clear, simple language; language that shows that not only do you understand the issues well enough to explain them in plain English, but more importantly, that you understand how those issues relate to their business and the challenges they face.

This entry is taken from our monthly WriteWords newsletter. Each month, WriteWords contains a top secret tip that you can use to improve your writing. You can sign up here.

Welcome to the Wordsworks blog, the blog that aims to help you improve your business copywriting. We believe that good, clear writing helps you get your organisation’s messages across more effectively and enhances your credibility and your brand. The Blog is for sharing writing tips, tactics, and general musings on business writing. We hope you enjoy it. If you don’t, surf on…