As a high-school youth in a first poetry class, we faced the obligatory question: “What is poetry?” We were told: “Poetry is language in which every word is working as hard as every other word.”
It rocked my world.
My writing has never been the same. And with apologies to the myriad product managers who have worked for me, neither has the writing of anyone I’ve managed.
I’m no poet. But I promise you: “brief” is the kissing cousin of “compelling.”
The final step in powerful copy is a “Poetry Pass”—a final check whether every word is working as hard as every other. The typical result: 15-25% length reduction and vast quality improvement. Copy becomes more compelling, persuasive, and easier to consume.
A Poetry Pass on your writing and speeches will make you better at your job. Whether you’re a Thought Leader or Social Media Maven, individual contributor or senior executive, your audience’s attention span has been shredded by social-media, joke-every-8-seconds sitcoms, and referring to a scan of four Google results as “research.” Your aspiration? Clear, Short, Compelling. Print it. Put it on your wall.
Oh, an extra step?! But you’re busy! After all, Pascal and Twain both get credit for saying, “Sorry for writing a long letter. I didn’t have time for a short one.” Can’t you save the step, apologize, and move on? Sure. The only problem: without a Poetry Pass, you’ll get what you want less often.
If that’s OK with you, I’m sure it’s OK with your audience.
Takeaways
- Recognize the purpose of business communication is to drive action in others.
- Realize the connection between Clear, Short, Compelling and Influence.
- Apply a Poetry Pass to all copy passing your desk. Practice leads to speed—I promise. You won’t see writing the same way ever again.
