Hi there
Whenever I tell new acquaintances what Emphasis does, I get one of three reactions.
First, there's the tilted head and the quizzical look. 'You help people write?' they ask. 'What, like novels and things?'
Or they assume it's all about details like grammar. 'My spelling and punctuation are terrible,' is a common response.
Finally, many think we fix a problem that everyone else but themselves has - or at least, that it's only young, inexperienced staff who face writing challenges. 'Ah yes, we need someone to help with the basics,' they say.
Everybody writes
What almost everyone misses is that almost everyone writes.
And writing often does much more heavy lifting than it's suited for.
Most of us spend most of our working day at a keyboard, typing. For some, that means punching numbers into a spreadsheet. But for the majority, that means writing.
We're incredibly reliant on the written word to convey even the most complex of thoughts and critical ideas.
Writing connects every part of every organisation. And when things go wrong, it's often because one person has written something that someone else has either misunderstood or reacted badly to. (Often both.)
Not-so 'basic'
That is, if they've read it at all. Much of what we write is ignored. Which means that many of the countless hours we spend hunched in front of our laptops go to waste. And brilliant ideas that could make a huge difference go nowhere.
So, does that mean we're all deficient in a so-called 'basic' skill?
Not at all.
It's because writing is anything but basic.
Miracle
In fact, the whole process of transmitting critical, often nuanced information just by creating dots and squiggles on a screen is so complex that it's a miracle it ever goes right at all.
Of course, as a loyal Writing Matters reader, you probably knew that already.
I'm preaching to the converted.
But if you need to help someone else, you could do worse than point them to this week's featured article.
It reveals exactly why writing is way more complex than we realise, why it goes wrong and three keys to getting it right.
