THOUGHTS ON COPYWRITING FROM OUR ARCHIVES
The Art of Explaining has been steadily crafting communications since 2008. We’ve moved with the pace of change but our task remains the same: to help people make their message clear. Here you’ll find a collection of writing from our archives on the art, craft and logic of explaining.
Boil it down
Thanks Edward for putting us on to this old-school newspaper editors’ mantra for writers. All sing along now…
How to write short, shortened
Last year Roy Peter Clark gave us How to Write Short: Word Craft for Fast Times. It’s a fantastic book … but not that short.
Do as you would be done by: how to connect with your reader
One of my first jobs was as a cashier in a building society. At the counter, I came face-to-face with all sides of human nature — friendly, impatient, worried, aggrieved, confused or plain rude.
Be positive, not negative!
Failure. While writing a tender application, I read the instructing letter – it stated “Failure to submit in the correct format will mean rejection”. Well I panicked!
How to explain first time
‘If you’re explaining you’re losing.’ That phrase recently came out to bite President Obama, after he gave a 17-minute answer to a short question about healthcare and taxes.
How computer code can improve your writing
The more I work with web developers and designers, the more I see of the dark arts of coding. And do you know what? Writing code is just the same as writing words.
Unusual advice on how to begin a proposal
Decision makers love to say ‘I only ever read the executive summary’. And the way you start your proposal tends to seal its fate. It’s your Dragon’s Den moment: 45 seconds to convince a tough audience. Better make it good.
Why you should start at the end, and why we don’t
Remember science at school? That’s where I learned to dice rats, mix volatile substances, handle electric shocks and melt biros with a Bunsen burner. It’s also where most of us were conditioned to save the main point until last.