Comments to: crs@uvm.eduReviewed as of 4/20/98
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EXERCISE 7
Written Expression
Writing, in all its various forms, is a skill that deserves
our attention and practice. Not only do people judge us by what we
write and how we write, we rely on written communication to further
our ideas, to set out our plans, to inform our publics of progress,
to challenge the status quo, to rally our fellow citizens and, as
W. H. Auden observed, to help us sort out and understnad what we
think.
The link between written communication and leadership is
obvious when we consider the following kinds of documents:
proposal writing (for grants, loans, project funding)
press releases and reports of events
public service announcements
meeting minutes and committee reports
project accomplishment reports
editorial essays
letters to the editor
memos
letters to policy makers
issue summaries
speeches
popular articles
brochures and flyers
newsletters
If you haven't cranked out an essay since Freshman
Composition, a press release since Poor Richard's Almanac, or a
grant application since the War on Poverty, or a love letter
since..., the best remedy is to get to it. Pick up the pencil or
boot up the word processor and get an outline. Don't worry about
the niceties of outlining unless you are comfortable with it, but
do know what you want to say, what leads from one thought to
another in logical sequence, and where you want to end up.
Arm yourself with a dictionary, perhaps a thesaurus, a
handbook on English composition, or Strunk and White's Elements of
Style. Crank out a draft and give it to someone to edit. Redraft
and polish it, and give it to someone else.
Try writing to a friend in regular correspondence; keep a
journal for ideas and dreams; volunteer to take minutes or to write
the press release; write a letter to the editor, or to your
congressional delegation; write a news report or a newsletter
article. Get others to read what you've written and comment on
content and style.
In short the key to good writing is volume, constant practice,
and constructive feedback.
> Some hints for proposal writing
There are any number of reasons to develop skills in writing
up proposals, starting with the fact that someone else holds the
resources necessary for a project or activity you want completed
and ending with the supposition that you hold the resources
necessary for a project or activity you want done and you want to
judge someone else's proposal for using those resources!
The pages that follow may be useful in preparing or reviewing
written proposals.
> Some hints for writing clearly
Use powerful nouns and verbs.
Limit descriptives and qualifiers when unnecessary.
Pay attention to tempo and rhythm when communicating ideas: make
sure they flow logically and evenly.
Use new language to describe something that cannot be described any
other way, and define it.
Metaphors and anecdotes can communicate new concepts clearly
without you're having to use a lot of new language.
> Exercise:
þ Each participant will write up a feature story,
press release, or minutes of a meeting for one or
more leadership event.
þ Each participant will write a "project proposal"
that describes a community problem and action that
would contribute to its solution.
þ Each participant may wish to keep a leadership
journal, recording thoughts, questions, insights,
and observations along the way.
Comments to: crs@uvm.edu
Reviewed as of 4/20/98