Writing for the Eye and the EarFundamental skill must be the ability to writePractitioners write for a wider range of purposes and use a great number of communications methodsThe principles remain the same, whether writing for the Internet, an annual report, or a case history, an employee newsletter, or a public speechWriting for a reader differs dramatically from writing for a listenerA reader has certain luxuries a listener does notA reader can checkup on a writer; if the facts are wrong, a reader can find out pretty easily.To be effective, writing for the eye must be able to withstand the most rigorous scrutinyA listening gets only one opportunity to hear and comprehend a messageNeed to grab the listener quicklyA listener who tunes out early in a speech or a broadcast is difficult to draw back into the listening foldAnyone that practices/wants to practice PR should understand the differences between writing for the eye and writing for the earFundamentals of WritingThe idea must precede the expressionRelate to the readerEngage the reader’s attentionConcern the readerBin the reader’s interestsEach new writing situation doesn’t require a new idea; come up with cleaver ideas lies more in borrowing old onesDon’t be afraid of the draftRough draftNecessary and fool proof method for avoiding mediocre, half-baked productWriting can always be improved with a second lookHelps organize ideas and plot their development before you commit them to a written testOutline before the draftSimplify, clarifyThe simpler the betterShop talk, jargon, and “in” words should be avoidedWhat makes sense is the simple rather than the complex, the familiar rather than the unconventional, and the concrete rather than abstractClarityTightness - each word, passage, paragraph must belongWriting requires judicious editing; copy must always be reviewed with an eye toward cuttingFinally, writing must be aimed at a particular audienceFlesch Readability FormulaRudolf FleschAnyone can become a writerThe people that write the way they talk will be able to write betterLess inclined to complicate their writing with “25-cent” words and more inclined to substitute simple worlds, then not only would communicators communicate better but receivers would receive more clearlyEx: Flesch approach: “Tom. I’ll mull over it and get back to you as soon as I can; the opposite to the Flesch approach: “Your suggestion has been received; and after careful consideration, we shall report our findings to you.”Seven suggestions for making writing more readableUse contradictions such as it’s and doesn’tLeave out the would that whenever possibleUse pronouns such as I, we, they, and youWhen referring back to a noun, repeat the noun or use a pronoun. Don’t create eloquent substitutionsUse brief, clear sentencesCover only one item per paragraphUse language the reader understandsYlisela Cornerstones of Corporate WritingGet to the pointJim Ylisela, a journalist and organizational writing instructorThe reason most corporate writing is mostly dull, uninspired, and convoluted is that writings are “fearful” to express themselves forcefullyMake the words countBe specificCorporate writing is too vague; demand writing that is about something we can graspUse more wordsStretch your vocabulary; avoid “key” “quality”Find better verbsAvoid “leveraging” and “facilitating”Action-oriented verbsPursue the active voiceSubject/verb/objectOmit needless wordsCount the number of words, print it, cut 10% of words in documentEmbrace simplicity and clarityAvoid big words and convoluted phraseologyClear, simple language, ride of hype and corporate-speakTell a good storyUse examples, illustrations, anecdotes, and personal experience to make pointsAvoid generalizationFind interesting voicesQuote people who are interesting and say interesting thingsTake chancesStick your neck out with writing and defies the conventionalRewriteEverything can be improvedThe Beauty of the Inverted PyramidWriting style is the Flesch/Ylisela approach in actionWords are precious not wasted; every word countsClimax of a newspaper story comes at the beginning; critical facts in a newspaper appear at the startIf readers decide to leave a news article early, they have already gained the basic ideasInverted PyramidThe first tier, or lead, of a story is the first one or two paragraphs, which include the most important factsThe most crucial element, usually answering questions concerning who, what, where , when, where, and occasionally howhighlight the pertinent facts and gets the point quicklyUsually 20 wordsParagraphs are written in descending order of importanceThe selection and organization of the facts more than it is an exercise in creative writingThe News ReleasesFirst recorded news release was issued by Ivy Lee in October of 1906, as a “Statement from the Road” offering an explanation from client Pennsylvania Railroad about the month’s crash that killed 50 people; published verbatim by the NYTBasic interpretive mechanism to let people know what an organization is doingNo better, clearer, more persuasive way to announce news about an organizationPR Newswire, a paid wire service used by PR people in 170 countries to distribute releases, issues more than 1,000 news releases (virtually by email) every dayA news release may be written as the document of record to state an organization’s official positionEx: court case, or announce a price or rate increaseReleases have one overriding purpose: to influence a publication to write favorable about the material discussedProfessionals releases to editors in hope of stimulating favorable stories about their organizationMost news releases are not verbatim; may stimulate editors to consider covering a storyReleases are poorly writtenMore complicated and difficult-to-read-styleReleases are rarely localizedReleases are not localized, but newspapers focus largely on regional developmentReleases are not newsworthyImpact: a major announcement that affects an organization, its community, or even societyOddity: an unusual occurrence or milestone (one-millionth customer)Conflict: significant dispute ore controversyLabor disagreement or rejection of a popular proposalKnown principle: greater the title of the individual making the release being usedProximity: how localized the release is or how timely it is, relative to the news of the dayNews Release News ValueNews releases should reflect the newsNews releases
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