Here at PCG, we help clients communicate effectively through
almost every form imaginable, except skywriting (so far) – from press releases
to infographics, from presentations to online advertising. But no matter how
the information is delivered, it all begins the same way: with words on paper,
or on a screen.
So even deep into the digital age, we still emphasize the
basic skill of effective writing. Get the messages clear, get the storyline
clear, and then present it in a persuasive, appealing style.
The hardest part is getting started. That was the subject of
an in-house tutorial led by our partner Leonard Greenberger. He was the right
tutor since last year he published his own book, What To Say When Things GetTough: Business Communication Strategies for Winning People Over When They’reAngry, Worried, and Suspicious of Everything You Say (McGraw Hill Education).
And he admits that the hardest part was filling up the first page.
So he began the session with two telling quotes from major
writers:
When asked about the most frightening thing he had ever
encountered, Ernest Hemingway – the war correspondent on the ground in both
World War I and World War II – answered, “A blank sheet of paper.”
And Stephen King, the master of horror, once said, “The
scariest moment is always just before you start writing.”
They reminded me of one of my own favorite quotes about
writing, from the journalist and author Gene Fowler: “Writing is easy. All you
do is sit staring at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your
forehead.”
Good writing isn’t for the queasy. Maybe that’s why it’s so
rare.
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