Give ambition to your words
It has been a while that I wanted to write about... writing. Or rather, how to improve he quality of one's speech or discouse. The key to good writing: giving your words the ambition they deserve.
The job of politicians and lobbyists alike (by lobbyists, I include any person representing interests in a political context) is to persuade and convince. In this objective, the main tools are words.
In this piece, let me give you a couple of tips on how to improve your writing.
Facts are not enough - you need style
Many intelligent people do not understand - or do not want to - that expertise is not enough. Sure, one will not get very far by not understanding the basics of the subject one is trying to convince others about. But knowledge without beauty is useless at best, and off-putting at worst.
In conclusion, not giving proper attention to the quality of your writing can deserve you. I want proof of the infinite number of conferences and meetings of “specialists” talking in a monotone and bland way over an overly complicated topic. I know you have participated in such a meeting.
Pause a second and try to remember one of these occasions. Do you recall any of the messages such a speaker tried to convey? Most probably, the message went into your ear and left through the other as quickly as it came in.
Now, you understand that if your goal is to convince people and to get them to do stuff, you need them not only to remember what you said but also to act in a way that serves your goal. And only with words can you convey this sense of urgency necessary to incite action in your audience.
Set an intention for your text
To set an intention is what I mean when I say “to give ambitions” to your words. Words are not merely to describe, but also to move - that is to convince and persuade your public to do something.
This something is yours to define. Are you pitching to an MEP to propose a specific amendment? Tell her so. But not just “please add this line to your amendments.” You have to explain to her 1. why it is necessary, and 2. why it is urgent to do so. This sense of urgency can be conveyed only by carefully choosing your words.
What you can do today to improve your style
Keep on writing
This is my number one piece of advice. When I was 16, I held a personal journal, where I would write not only my daily activities but where I would discuss the ideas that troubled me at the time. It would have been trivial considerations about what I hate for dinner or grander inquiries of why democracy is the best political system at hand.
Not only did this exercise firmly imprint a few core ideas in my head, but it also helped me refine my style.
I am not a boy anymore, but this learning process still continues to this day. Although my recent writings are much more readable than my earlier works, even in my french mother tongue, some of them are of dubious quality. I have still much to learn.
This is why The Beubble exists. Not only as a way to understand and learn about EU affairs, but also as a means to continue to write - and now with an audience, I must manufacture only my best work.
Write with intention
Besides writing consistently, I recommend you start giving more thought to the content of your messages. When you finish a text, go back to it. Correct its grammatical mistakes. Allow yourself a pause, then read it critically.
Is this sentence complete? or is the information that I expose in the next one redundant? Is this passage clear? Put yourself in the eyes of your reader, with limited information and understanding of the situation you want to expose. Will they understand easily your message after a first reading?
If you can respond positively to these questions, then you can be confident that your text is good. Not necessarily great, but good enough (and remember: good enough is good enough).
This being said, I wish you plenty of luck in your next discourse, meeting, e-mail. Set intention in your message, and you’ll write already better than 75% of the population.
And while you’re at it, don’t forget to register and send this text to a friend.