Rhetoric, But in a Good Way

I am reading a new book and, even though I am not even halfway through, I wanted to share my excitement with you. The book is "Farnsworth's Classic English Rhetoric," by Ward Farnsworth, a law professor at Boston University (http://tinyurl.com/6kt4mov).

Rhetoric has taken a lot of abuse in recent years. The term "political rhetoric" has taken on a slanderous meaning that has tainted the true meaning of the word. Merriam-Webster defines rhetoric as, "the art of speaking or writing effectively." Previous generations learned rhetoric as an important part of a liberal arts education. But the "art of rhetoric" seems to be slipping away in an age of 140 character tweets and microscopic attention spans.

Which is why I am so enjoying Farnsworth's book. I make my living with words, and have great admiration for those writers and speakers who have the ability to make words, phrases and sentences bend and dance to their desired purposes. "Classic English Rhetoric" is filled with sparkling examples of the English language at its best.

There are passages from Winston Churchill, Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, William Shakespeare, Mark Twain, G.K. Chesterton -- the list goes on. Each drafted to inspire, entice and encourage action. The kind of writing that is all too rare today, but to which I constantly aspire.

I know it is not the latest Harry Potter, or Stephen King, or John Grisham. But if you get a chance to pick up a copy of "Farnsworth's Classic English Rhetoric" I think you may enjoy it as much as I am. All while learning something old that is new again.

Saying More By Saying Less (continued)

(Yes, I recognize the irony in "continuing" to say less! Deal with it.)

A colleague responded to my last post promoting spareness of language. He reminded me that even Ernest Hemingway struggled with editing his prose, noting, “I write one page of masterpiece to ninety-one pages of shit. I try to put the shit in the wastebasket."

Papa was being modest. He used the language well. Hemingway is also responsible for what some consider to be the greatest ad copy ever written, one that conveys a novel's worth of information and emotion in just six words: "For sale: baby shoes. Never worn."

Can you condense your marketing message into six words? Not always possible, but always a good goal.

You Are Not a Writer

"I'm all in favor of keeping dangerous weapons out of the hands of fools. Let's start with typewriters." -- Solomon Short

I wish that I could write like Thomas Paine. His words, distributed through pamphlets and newspaper editorials, inflamed and inspired an entire colony to create a nation. The words still resonate today.

But I am not Thomas Paine. My writing is geared toward purposes that are more “commonplace” than “Common Sense.” Still, in my own small way, my writing is effective. I am proud to say that I am an advertising copywriter. And you are not.

Please don’t think I am tooting my own horn, or trying to drum up more business. I just want to point out that writing good copy for your company’s ads, brochures, newsletters, web site or fliers is HARD WORK.

It takes years of experience to understand the nuances of crafting a headline that attracts attention. Thousands of hours of practice to create a compelling tale about your product or service that tells the whole story in just a few short sentences or paragraphs. Intimate knowledge of language and psychology to write a “call to action” that gets people to act.

Yet every day, company owners and managers who attended business school, or came up through the accounting department, or who recently climbed down off a ladder or out of a truck cab; think they can sit down and dash off a winning composition that will sell millions of their widgets to an eager public.

Do yourself a favor. By all means write down your thoughts, identify the key selling points of your product, record the reasons you think people are buying from you now. Then hand your notes over to a professional who can take these rough components and craft them into a masterpiece of brevity and persuasive language.

You may not start a revolution. But you just might see a better return on your marketing dollar.