Last week, we gathered at the fabulous London offices of Norton Rose Fulbright for the PM Forum “Marketing and Business Development Writing Workshop”. (Details of future training workshops: PM Forum – PM Forum). Focusing on three key points Power of three – Writing and presentation basics (Video) (kimtasso.com) – I’ve mined the three diamonds from all the delegates’ idea gems: Writing skills – Audience, Emotions and “Show don’t tell”.
Audience focus and analysis
Fee-earners often ask us to publish their content so that they can tick their business development box. However, “push” communication often fail to take account of the reader’s interests and needs. Marketers must be client-centric.
Always consider the target audience. Conduct an audience analysis. Research their needs. Prepare personas if it helps. Look at the analytics to see what content resonates. Consider what content from your competitors is popular. Review research on what content and channels are important to your audience. Tap into your client listening programmes. Ask potential readers what they like and want. Remember that personalisation is critical (“write to one reader”).
There’s lots of scientific evidence to guide us on how to best serve our readers. For example, good writing gets the reader’s dopamine flowing in brain’s reward circuit. Simplicity increases the brain’s “processing fluency” so use short sentences, familiar words and clean syntax so the reader doesn’t have to work too hard to understand your meaning. Specifics are important too – for example, don’t use “bird” but try “pelican” or “flamingo”.
Respect your audience. I like Peter Frederick’s description that the audience “is an ignorant genius” – as intelligent as you but without knowledge of the subject.
We need empathy with the audience. Use emotional intelligence and research skills to learn more about them (e.g. we looked at research into what general counsel expects from law firm content).
Emotions in writing
Many people think we’re more likely to persuade with logic. But 90% of purchasing decisions are made subconsciously based on emotion not logic. Business professionals are 50% more likely to buy a product/service that demonstrates personal value through emotional appeal. We considered other data that shows the importance of emotions in B2B decision-making.
Our brains process the emotional connotations of a word within 200 milliseconds — much faster than we understand its meaning. When we read emotionally-charged material, we reflexively react with feelings — fear, joy, awe, disgust etc — because our brains have been trained since hunter-gatherer times to respond that way.
Our writing is usually intended to promote some action: engagement, click the link, download the material or sign up for the event. To promote action we need to engage emotions. Curiosity – considered by some as the knowledge emotion – will draw the reader in. FOMO might persuade them to read something rather than swipe on by.
On persuasion, Aristotle’s advice was that we need three pillars: the credibility of the writer, the rational content and an emotional connection.
We can engage emotions is through storytelling. Functional MRI scans show that when a story begins, listeners’ brains immediately begin glowing in a specific pattern. Other research shows that, at the same time, midbrain regions of the reward circuit come to life.
An introduction to emotional intelligence (EQ) and empathy (Video) (kimtasso.com)
Show, don’t tell
We considered the power of metaphors to connect or bridge new ideas with familiar ones. And to evoke emotions and aid comprehension.
Storytelling is one way in which we can “show, don’t tell”.
“A story is a character in pursuit of a goal in the face of some challenge or obstacle”. You’re your client or reader the hero of the story.
We looked at numerous storytelling structures to help us craft stories. We considered the Rudolf structure from Book review: Everybody writes by Ann Handley – Kim Tasso
Soon, I’ll publish a review of a new favourite storytelling book “Unleash the power of storytelling – win hearts, change minds, get results” by Rob Biesenbach. (see the power of three in action there Power of three – Writing and presentation basics (Video) (kimtasso.com)).
In the meantime, you can look at Video – The art of storytelling – Kim Tasso explains or read Storytelling book reviews: The Story Advantage and The Story Factor (kimtasso.com).
A picture is worth a thousand words. Harness visuals to illustrate our stories. And create mental images in our readers’ minds to show what we are trying to convey.
Other questions about writing skills
There were a few other points raised by delegates which I said I would answer:
Humour in writing
I was asked about guidance on writing humour. We noted that humour was culture-specific so care was needed for international readers.
I found this book helpful: “How to write comedy – Discover the building blocks of sketches, jokes and sitcoms and make them work” by Tony Kirwood. Long ago, I attended one of his talks and valued some of the techniques he shared (e.g. exaggeration, juxtaposition, characterisation, metaphor, incongruity, surprise, conflict and reversal).
Others have recommended “Humour, Seriously: Why Humour Is A Superpower At Work And In Life” (2020) by Jennifer Aaker (a behavioural psychologist) and Naomi Bagdonas (a strategy and media consultant and professionally-trained comedian). This is a Wall Street Journal bestseller based on a popular Stanford Business course.
There’s some more inspiration here: The Stand-Up Comedian’s Library: 21 Books For Comics Who Care About Their Craft (forbes.com). I look forward to reading your work!
Writing Templates
There was a debate about templates – especially when used for pitches. Whilst recognising their value in providing structure and consistency (so important for brand), they can cause issues if they detract from the ability to reflect the client’s needs.
If working with templates generates more constraints than assistance then perhaps it is time for them to be reviewed? Periodic reviews of templates should be part of a firm’s process – involving brand and style experts, frequent users of the templates and feedback from clients.
Writing Process
We experimented with different writing processes. And explored writing frameworks from several experts.
Delegate insights on using pen and paper included: less restrictions, greater flow, the generation of insights, the emergence of tangents, suspended judgement, freer, more engaged, tap into own voice, less anxiety and natural style.
The physicality and tactile experiences were noted – they use different parts of the brain.
Grammar
Delegates asked for recommendations of the best books on English grammar. I often suggest “Eats shoots and leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation” by Lynne Truss or “What Not to Write: A Guide to the Dos and Don’ts of Good English” by Kay Sayce. But you might review the recommendations here 20 Best English Grammar Books of All Time – BookAuthority
We also noticed that sometimes our “inner critic” gets in the way and blocks our ability to write with purpose and fluidity. Don’t let your fear of poor grammar stop your writing. Acquire a tool such as Product Features | Grammarly.
About the delegates
Amongst the delegates were marketing and business development assistants and executives, those in client support roles and a couple of pitch writers. They represented law firms, accountants and economic consultants (note that “The Economist Style Guide” is the go-to reference for many writers in the UK whereas in the US the preference is for “The Associated Press Style Guide”).
Two delegates were non-native English speakers – and commented on the flexibility of English grammar compared to other languages. The average score for delegates’ self-assessed writing skills was 6.5 out of 10.
The materials and briefs brought by the delegates to improve included:
- LinkedIn posts
- Blog posts
- Pitches
- Internal and external emails
- Brochures
- Award submissions
Amongst the common challenges was how to convert long and boring articles into “short and snappy” pieces. As a result of one of the writing exercises, we now all want to read the finished piece on top travel destinations in Europe (with a critique of British culture).
Thank you to London | United Kingdom | Global law firm | Norton Rose Fulbright for hosting this in person workshop. The admin and tech team support was outstanding and the catering exemplary – I’m still thinking about that marvellous chocolate cake.
Related links on writing skills
Writing book reviews
Book review: Everybody writes by Ann Handley – Kim Tasso
Book review – Peter Frederick’s “Persuasive writing” (kimtasso.com)
Book review by Kim Tasso – Ian Atkinson’s Business writing
Book review: Digital Body Language – How to build trust by Erica Dhawan (kimtasso.com)
Storytelling book reviews: The Story Advantage and The Story Factor (kimtasso.com)
Social Media in Business Development and Relationship Management: Lawyers (kimtasso.com)
Book review “Valuable content marketing” by Jefferson and Tanton (kimtasso.com)
Book review of Hypnotic writing by Joe Vitale (kimtasso.com)
Related articles on writing skills
Persuasive writing checklist (kimtasso.com) February 2024
Persuasive writing – Mindset, audience, headlines, key points (kimtasso.com) October 2023
22 tips on being a persuasive writer in professional services (kimtasso.com) August 2023
Hooks, Headlines and Hard-Wired Words: 11 ideas for better writing (kimtasso.com) October 2022
Video – The art of storytelling – Kim Tasso explains April 2021
Power of three – Writing and presentation basics (Video) (kimtasso.com) December 2020
Seven secrets of great business writing (Video) VASTCOP (kimtasso.com) April 2020
The Legal PR Guide – Gaining buy-in to law firm media relations (kimtasso.com)
Writing tips for finding news stories, backstories and explainers (kimtasso.com) April 2019
Top persuasive writing tips – Audience, structure and content (kimtasso.com) February 2019
Persuasive writing – nine writing tips (kimtasso.com) October 2017
selling legal services with storytelling (kimtasso.com) September 2017
Persuasive writing tips – five technical questions (kimtasso.com) March 2017
Business development writing for lawyers (kimtasso.com) July 2016
5 favourite thoughts on business development writing (kimtasso.com) March 2015
top tips on marketing and business development writing (kimtasso.com) April 2014
How to write a press release – Kim Tasso June 2013
Feedback from an effective writing workshop (kimtasso.com) April 2012
