Writing lessons from my toddler

Kids are natural writing coaches.

Hear me out; there are countless lessons in communications, language and writing to be learned from those who’ve only just learned to speak themselves.

✅ Keep it simple and in recognisable terms

My son is two. If he wants an explanation for why he can’t have or do something, you’d better be damn clear in your defence.

He doesn’t care for detail. He doesn’t want history and context.

He has a limited vocabulary and it’s often a challenge to explain in terms simple enough for him to understand.

The content you write shouldn’t be a chore for people to read. Keep it simple and in language they’ll recognise. Don’t overcomplicate it.

❓Get to the ‘why’

The best test for finding the heart of your message is to interrogate it like a six year old.

“But why?”

The more times you ask and answer this question, the better your message will be.

Sure, you want to say “our product is revolutionary."

But why?

“Because it uses brand new technology to deliver features none of our competitors have.”

But why?

“Because the old way of doing things wasn’t working any more.”

But why?

“Because they took too long and were really manual processes.”

But why?

“Because people have limited time and resources and this gets the job done faster and more cheaply.”

Bingo.

💬 Tone matters

When a child falls over, your reaction can be the difference between tears and snot, and them brushing off and going on their way.

Your tone can instantly change the meaning of a sentence.

In writing, this can include the language you use, the way you format your copy or the way you use punctuation, among much more. 

How do you want people to feel? React? Remember you? 

To paraphrase Maya Angelou, “people will forget what you said…but people will never forget how you made them feel.'