The Power of the Written Word

‘The Power of the written word’ by Teresa Ewington, Training Journal, July 2014

This article interested me at a personal level because, these days, I spend most of my time writing - learning material, books and reviews like this one.  And it is unusual for anyone to write about the skill of writing because, in my biased view, it is a highly underrated talent, one that managers are often expected to develop as an extra attribute to complement the ‘more important’ elements of their role.

The author of the article is likely to be similarly biased because she represents an organisation called ‘The Writer’ that I had never heard of before but which, based on their website, seems to have an impressive client list.  I was surprised that, in these days of instant sound-bites and You Tube videos, there is a demand for ‘old fashioned’ writing skills so I was interested to see what the article had to offer. 

Most of the points made in the article are common sense which some might find obvious but which are still worth retaining and applying.  The first point is to write for your audience rather than for yourself; to talk their language, put yourself in their place and think about what they want to hear.  This may seem blindingly obvious but is so often not followed in practice; you only have to read typical reports by Finance people to their non-financial colleagues to realise this weakness.  Another valid point made by the author is the tendency to adopt a passive writing style - ‘it will be done’ - rather than the more active ‘we will do it’.

Another interesting suggestion relates to the writing of learning material.  The author questions whether those who write really understand what it is like to be a learner on a training programme; we may sit in on sessions and think we know what learners are feeling but do we really know?  The practical suggestion is that those who write material should actually take part from time to time, rather than relying on assumptions and attitudes developed long into the past.

The author also advocates that we should think like marketers when spreading the word and selling programmes.  One valid point that is often not realised by Learning & Development professionals but which the author makes very well, is the importance of course titles in creating interest and setting expectations.  She claims that changing a title from a boring and predictable ‘Time Management’ to ‘Getting the Job Done’ had a major positive impact on take-up.

In addition to the above useful points were quite a few that were too predictable and not entirely to do with writing.  For example the need to think about return on investment from training and to focus on practical applications rather than theory, challenges which have been occupying the minds of most Learning & Development professionals for many years and which have featured in many of the article reviews in this blog.  These challenges are about much more than writing skills and are distracting from the main messages.

So overall the article is worth reading by those for whom writing is an important part of their role.  It might help them to realise that it is not a fringe activity to be worked on when more important tasks have been completed.  It is an essential skill for managers in general and L&D professionals in particular.

Read the article in full here