On Writing Well, 23 November 2016
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Transcript of On Writing Well, 23 November 2016
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Enhanced Management
Training Program23 November, 2016
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On Writing WellPart Two
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Tom Wicker, New York Times
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Why this worked• Got to the point quickly;• Information structured logically;
• most important items first;• background later.
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Tom Wicker imagined what the audience
wanted to know
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Why this worked• Brought in people;• Brought in empathy;• re-written.
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“The first draft of everything is shit”.
Ernest Hemingway
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To Review—
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It’s time to radically re-imagine how we
write.
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A special emphasis on audience needs.
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A special emphasis on brevity and clarity.
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A special emphasis on logical structure.
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I can’t solve all your problems.
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Important tools• Positioning statement;• Flesch-Kincaid readability score;• Vernacular eloquence review.
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Our Problems
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Our sentences are too long.
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We structure our information poorly.
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We fail to imagine what our audience needs.
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Implications
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We’re not engaging our readers.
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No one wants to read what we write.
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No one needs to read what we write.
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We don’t have a point of view.
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We don’t present a range of options.
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We don’t explain the implications of various
options.
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People don’t need to grapple with our point
of view.
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We’re not communicating
effectively.
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We’re not doing our job.
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Why do we write too much?
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We don’t know what people want…
so we give them everything.
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We’re trying to protect ourselves.
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We think no one is reading what we write.
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We don’t talk about the value of clarity and
power.
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No narrative…no voice…no story…no point…no interest.
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Exercise One.
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Discuss and report• What’s important in the document ?• What’s not ?• What are they really trying to say ?• How would you fix it ?
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Report back
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Lessons learned:• If you say everything, you say nothing;• Keep sentences short;• Structure is important.
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Data dumps…
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..are hard to structure.
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No narrative…no voice…no story…no point…no interest.
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Readers have to hunt for useful info.
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Long, ponderous sentences
harm clarity.
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When structuring a document,
apply critical thinking.
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Ask three important questions:
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1) What problem are we trying to solve ?
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2) What does “good”look like ?
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3) How will we know when we get there ?
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Tools
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Measuring text
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Govt. of Sask. briefing note.
Average Score = 30-36
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Good score
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Bad score
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Aim for:• A score of 50 or better;• 10 - 15 words per sentence;• Grade level between 6 - 8.
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Grade Six readability is hard to achieve, but it’s not “dumbing
down”.
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B. ObamaM. Obama
H. ClintonD. Trump
0
22.5
45
67.5
90
Readability ScoresMajor Convention Speeches
July, 2016
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B. ObamaM. Obama
H. ClintonD. Trump
0
2.25
4.5
6.75
9
Grade LevelMajor Convention Speeches
July, 2016
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Text Analysis of recent govt. writing.
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cominglementsunitization
re-locatables
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Fall 2014
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12 -15 words per sentence
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Reading Ease score:
50 or better.
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Readability grade level
6 to 8
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Parting thoughts
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In your documents/presentations….• convey a big idea;• covey what’s at stake;• Convince me I should care.
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Exhibit a clarity of intent
• What problem am I trying to solve;• What does ‘good’ look like;• How will I know when I get there ?
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Rejected opportunity cost
• What happens if I do nothing ?
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An audience transformed
• The highest goal;• Now that I’ve read this, I know this;• Now, I have to do something.
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A presentation template
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We had a big idea• It’s important because—• This idea came from—• We talked to these people, and they said—
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Here’s how our big idea changed
• We were surprised to discover—• New information created these new insights—• Here’s why these insights are valuable—
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The value proposition
• Our big idea will improve a process/save money/• make life better for people in the following ways—
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Rejected opportunity cost
• If we do nothing, here are the consequences—• Here’s what they are doing on other jurisdictions—
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No that you now all this
• You must—
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questions