Some things I’ve learned about writing for business and sales

(11 to 15)

11. “Art is a picture of a destination”

Alain de Botton and John Armstrong

Corporate stories—brands—are, by nature, aspirational. They describe who we intend to be,

not necessarily who are are today. �Corporate stories should challenge us

and inspire us.

12. “We sat together…and talked of poetry. I said, ‘A line will take us hours maybe;

Yet if it does not seem a moment’s thought,    Our stitching and unstitching

has been naught.” W. B. Yeats  

It is difficult to craft a sentence, a paragraph—a ‘one-pager’ —that clearly and concisely

communicates. In fact, the less effort demanded of the reader, the greater the effort required by the writer. Good writing is harder than it looks

and it takes time.

13.  “Never use a verb other than ‘said’

to carry dialogue” Elmore Leonard

Keep it simple.

14. We don’t comprehend large numbers

The human brain is extraordinary, but curious. We think we understand terms such as ‘a light year’

or ‘a billon’, but actually, we have no idea. To ensure people appreciate the significance of large numbers, provide context: “that’s more than…” or

“…about the same as.”

15. I’m a surrogate parent

Whether our client is literally a client, or our boss, or ‘the board’, the business writing we do is most

often on behalf of someone else. As much, then, as we regard what we’ve written as ‘our baby’ (and

will fight, as all parents do, to protect our baby), in the end it’s their baby and our work is done. Much

as it infuriates us, they can—and will— make it wear that stupid hat.