Observed

As a business writer, I like to think I'm a LEED-certified Dunkin' Donuts. I want to make my customers feel welcomed and engaged...and eager to come back.

What kind of building are you?  Or, better said, what kind of architecture best represents the way you express yourself — particularly in business communications.

I got to thinking about this after I recently wrote an article about a new Dunkin’ Donuts store in Louisville’s vibrant and upmarket Highlands neighborhood.  (Really.  I’m not kidding.)

The Dunkin’ is a descendant of the street-loving polemics pioneered 50-plus years ago by Jane Jacobs.  It’s the kind of building that does a great job of connecting with its surroundings, including the tons of people walking up and down Bardstown Road, the commercial heart of the area.  The new Dunkin’ fits in while a few of its neighbors — including a nearby Dairy Queen from an earlier generation of commercial architecture and urban design — step away from street like little islands in an asphalt pond.

So, think about it.  Are you inviting in the way you write?  Do you engage your readers in the way a doorway or porch might invite a building’s users to come in or to set a spell?

Or, do you surround yourself with stiff and difficult words?  Do you present a turgid monolith or long, dense blocks of copy, or do you format your content to be more accommodating?

Just wondering.

OK. So, maybe some things we write HAVE TO BE turgid. Like because somebody will end up getting sued if the thing is written in English. So be it. But let's be honest. While it might be legally prudent, nobody (except the lawyers) will ever read it. Ever.

Here’s something to remember the next time you write a business letter, or update your Web site or put out anything you intend for your reader to read.

If something looks difficult, people assume that it is difficult and they won’t read it,” she said.  “Headings help.  White space helps.  Breaking things into lists helps.

“She” is Susan Kleimann, Ph.D., CEO of the Kleimann Communication Group.  According to her Web site, her business “…integrates the design, development , and rigorous testing of consumer documents to ensure that consumers can use them to make informed decisions.”  She was quoted in a recent NPR story, “Why Are Credit Card Agreements So Long?”

Anyway, I couldn’t say it any better myself.  So, I’ll have Dr. Kleimann say it again:

“If something looks difficult, people assume that it is difficult and they won’t read it,” she said.  “Headings help.  White space helps.  Breaking things into lists helps.”

Amen to that.

Here’s the second in a series of practical how-to writing clips from Doug.  It’s a companion to a blog post.

While W. Edwards Deming first introduced kaizen to post-WW2 Japanese industry, it's a management concept that's applicable far more broadly. That includes just about any service sector...such as freelance business writing.

The journalist Grady Clay used to be a neighbor many, many years ago.  I once asked him about becoming a writer.  What I remember Grady saying was, “Find something you like and write about it.”

I did.  And then, I found another thing and another and so on.

I discovered something in that process.  I discovered that there are some subjects about which I write that offer more value to my readers (and clients) than others. (more…)