Good communicators need to be good writers. Press releases have a better chance of attracting media attention if they are well-written.
There are many tips for good
writing, and over time I’ll share some on this blog. But some of the best come
from English writer George Orwell.
In his 1946 essay, Politics and the English Language, he shared the following tips.
1. Never use a metaphor,
simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. (To
that I would add: Avoid clichés like the plague!)
2. Never use a long word
where a short one will do.
3. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. (Shorter sentences are better than long ones.)
4. Never use the passive where you can use the active. (Not “he said,” but “he says.”)
5. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. (Keep it Simple, Stupid!)
6. Break any of these rules
sooner than say anything outright barbarous. (This Get-Out-Jail-Free card means
if it sounds better when you break a rule, go ahead and break it.)
Since many of use learned or honed our
writing in university, where we were taught that big words, long sentences, fulsome
jargon and a certain cool-distance from the subject were signs of intelligence,
these tips can be hard to accept and apply.
But they are absolutely
essential for good day-to-day communication with the public and the media.
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