Poetry & Word Power

This was in response to a Newsletter article I read that highlighted a workshop that she attended that focused on writing poetry to help improve communications skills... My response...

Amy - I am a frequent reader of poetry and I found your article quite appropriate. I read poetry to my children – especially if we a discussing a certain subject. I even introduce them to the power of Haiku’s! As an adult the Haiku is simply amazing (originated in the 1600s in Japan as a way of helping warriors balance the mental with the physical) – Basho is the best known and here’s his best known Haiku.

Breaking the silence
Of an ancient pond,
A frog jumped into water

With these few words, look at what he conveyed! You can picture the pond, the time of year, the frog, the sound – it’s amazing!

I read this to my 7 year old (and others) and asked:
What time of year is it?
How big is the body of water?
What is the temperature outside?
What time of day is it?
What is in the water?
What does it look like around the pond (trees, birds, flies, etc.)

Continuing on down this path, think of songs we take for granted and review their beauty and simplicity – as well as their ability to convey a great mental picture with words.

Twinkle, twinkle little star
How I wonder what your are
Up above the world so high
Like a diamond in the sky.

Applied to what we do today, it’s important for us all (as business writers) to be efficient AND to continue to paint emotional pictures that are passionate and moving. The latter is often forgotten in business writing, however it’s essential to convey feeling through the use of more powerful and emotional words (adjectives & gerunds). This is the premise of the “Word Power” system you might have heard about, which teaches us that every word that we use has power and meaning unto itself.

For example, rather than writing a bill called “Breakfast Subsidy Program for Underprivileged Children”, the system would instruct you to pick a name that legislators would feel proud to vote for (or afraid to vote against) like “The SmartStart Nutrition Program for Children.” Same bill, same benefit, yet the latter makes legislators think twice before voting against it. Again, it all comes down to transitioning your writing from product facts without emotion and powerful words, to adjectives that affect a more positive and personal emotional connection in order to achieve a desired result (like voting for a bill, in this sample).

The word power system is being used in Washington and at the state level to help get programs approved. You might enjoy looking into the system (not buying it, but just understanding it) if you have not already done so. It’s really helped my business writing!