Is your writing criminally flawed and Producing a Fatal Lack of Attraction?
And… How to Fix It.
#writing #impact #culture #results #communication #effective #success #action #improve
Crime one – “So What?!?!?!”
If the reader is feeling, So What? Then you are not delivering a product that works. You will NOT entertain, inform or move anyone, any time soon. What a waste of an opportunity to grab eyeballs, engage minds, and move your tribe to feel something, learn something, join a movement or at least turn up to your next event.
You have not captured and articulated either the Cost of Not, or the Benefit of getting involved. Those two stools have been missed as your words tumble between them.
Great Question – So What?
This was the old school, paper editor’s prompt to junior journalists, after every sentence. “Does what you just typed have a point? Is their value? Is there a direction of travel? Does it form part of a path to somewhere useful?”
Asking “So What?” can really tighten up your copy, text, invitation or proposal, and keep the reader engaged, following, and with a sense of expectation, excitement and enthusiasm.
Action
Structure your words to move the person along, going through the gears, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, Top, to a crescendo, a point, or take them to the bottom so that they can feel something bad, that then moves them to take action to move away from the negative.
Crime two – Not for Me Thank you
Not all of your eyeballs are the eyeballs you want. Losing a loser in your audience or readership is fine. Sending a Greek scholar away from your novel is fine. Annoying a pre-programmed, prejudiced, polar anti-reader is not a problem.
But there are people who are your target audience, that need your message, and that want to love you. Killing their buzz, calming their pulse and disappointing them – NO. That is totally unacceptable.
Decision time
Have you produced content that is on the yuk list for your reader? Take TV as an example – You are choosing a film – You hate vampires, science fiction, apocalyptical futures, and horror. You love romcoms, twisty action films, crime drama and true life salvation movies.
How long does it take you to categorise the title, picture or trailer into a decision – no or a yes? Not long.
The content has to be on message, in the zone and to fit with your avatar’s preferences, and the proof of this has to be swift and clear.
Action
Make the premise, realm and genre of your offering clear from the outset. Don’t bury it or confuse the reader. You have seconds to get them, keep them and have them make the decision to read on. You may have 2 seconds to grab them, and then 30 seconds to convince them to continue. Make those first 75 words count.
Crime three – I have lost my pants to Boredom
Playing it safe and not wishing to offend everybody is not the way to go in the 2020s. Bland is not the new black. Yawn is not the new fun. Dull is not the new charming. There has never been more written and spoken product out there in the history of mankind. Shine or die, sparkle or fade away alone, thrill or be killed, punch or be put down, zing or zonk out. I could go on…
Action – Transform Your Writing: Capture Your Audience’s Attention
Have a critical friend tell you the brutal truth about the number of words in, they read to, before getting the point you are making and becoming engaged, or deciding to tune out. And listen to that feedback. That number has to come down, whatever it is.
Conclusion
I hope you felt the prick of conscience, a cold stinging juddering slap of reality and the surging urge to be better, write tighter and move your audience to feel some emotion, say out loud, “aha”, and spark their own hunger to consume more of what is in your creative and wise mind, memory and ‘magination.
About the Author
Matthew Hill is a Presentation Skills speaker, trainer and facilitation trainer, helping corporate executives achieve greater returns and success from their writing and speaking.
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