Wow, I wish I could write like that!   

How do you fancy readers coming away from your work with just such a feeling?

Now we’ve covered the essentials of good communication, writing to woo and wow an audience is our next destination both in the book and in the course. After all, why just write when you can do so with substance and significance, sparkle and style?

To help us, we explore lessons from classic literature, pop music, great speeches, insights from the world of journalism and the BBC, and the wisdom of the finest writers history has seen.

Let’s find out what you know, or, if you’ve read the book, can remember. We’ll begin with starts and ends, as the most important parts of any piece of writing:

  

Now let’s put that learning into practice with another game.

Below is an email I’ve written to everyone at Communication College, a mythical addition to the University of Cambridge. Can you help me improve it, so it includes the lessons from the quiz and makes sure we get a good crowd at the event?

Try to spot what I’ve done wrong, and feel free to invent any details which might be required. Use the insights we’ve explored from the previous chapter, as well as this one.

When you’ve had a go at rewriting the email, you can click below to compare your thoughts with ours.

What did you make of that? Have you managed to spot the problems and come up with an improved version?

First, let’s see what the errors were:

As for a revised version of the email, here’s our offering. Don’t worry if yours isn’t an exact match. Communication is an art, not a science, and there are many different ways of phrasing your thoughts.

Just so long as you’ve applied the learning from Chapters 1 and 2, you’ve no doubt improved the message.

Do you see the difference applying the principles of good communication makes?

First, a much more effective title. Then being clear on your story and sticking to it; making sure to include the necessary facts; and wielding the power of less is more, saying only what you need to say. 

In addition, having a beginning which sets out the story, establishes the writer’s character, and makes the reader want to find out more. Finally, an ending which sums up the story, memorably and emphatically.