Use the Write Language

Every industry speaks its own language. For those on the inside, industry language (or jargon as it’s often called) rolls off the tongue easily, and is readily understood. However, to those outside that particular industry, the words can sound as foreign as English does to one who speaks only Japanese (or Italian, or Spanish, or Armenian – or any other language you care to insert.)

As a business writer you must learn the language of the industry you’re writing for, and be able to translate it into the language of the market you’re writing to. Typically, that means learning multiple sets of industry jargon.

For example, you’ve landed a writing assignment for an article about the impact of repeat-offender crime in the local community. You will choose different words if your article will appear in a Law Enforcement Journal than you will if you’re writing for a Business Magazine. Your goal would be the same: to convey a clear message with consistent information - but you will be writing to vastly different audiences. You would approach your subject from a different perspective, too. (Ask me about Write Angles.)

I consider The Rule of Write Language to be one of the most important tips for writers.

Here’s another example. A nationally based non-profit organization has asked you to write a grant proposal to obtain funding from a Community Foundation. Your client (the NPO) speaks one language while your audience (the CF) understands another. As an effective business writer, your most valuable resource is your ability to tell your client’s story in the language of your audience. It sounds easier than it really is.

Your market research skill is one of the most important implements in your writers’ toolbox. Learn to use it well. Immerse yourself in your NPO’s world before you start writing.

• Study everything they have in print;
• Talk with staff in every department (know how the departments work together to make the organization function as a whole);
• Ask what the words mean when they use industry jargon;
• Learn where your client organization fits into their (larger) industry; (and)
• Know the role their industry serves in society.

Then apply the same techniques to learning about your local CF.

• Pay close attention to their Mission Statement;
• Study their annual report (know who they’ve previously funded, how many grants they award each year, and know the average dollar amount of their typical grant);
• Find out about their funding priorities – and know how your NPO fits into them;
• Know their funding cycles and work to their deadlines; (and)
• Discover all you can about the people who decide which grants the CF will fund.

You won’t use everything you’ve learned in a single grant proposal, but the depth of your newly gained knowledge will provide background for your work and will allow you to pitch grant writing opportunities to other NPO clients at other times. (Ask me about The Write Fit.) And, besides all that, your marketing research will benefit you as a writer in other ways.

• You’ll have answers to industry related questions – or know who to call to get them;
• When new opportunities arise to write for either market you’ll have a competitive edge (backed up by your research – you can write what you know);
• By its very nature market research builds your personal network;
• Networking builds your reputation as a business writer; (and)
• You will have learned the jargon of another industry, as well.

Sharpening your market research skills builds your value as a reusable resource, both to your clients and to those who fund them.

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