Speaking Moylanguage #10: The Writing Edition
Poetry, fighting Eurish, speechwriting tips, recommended reads, writing communication material, platforms style guide
Thank you for subscribing and welcome to the tenth edition of Speaking Moylanguage!
This edition focuses on writing - offering tips, recommending reads and exploring different styles.
I am joined in this edition by two excellent contributors. Ben Ray, besides being a good buddy, is a copywriter and communication specialist, as well as an award-winning poet and writer. He has prepared a lovely piece on how reading poetry can improve your writing - and has even included a list of poems to get you started!
Rosie ter Beek is a clear writing champion in the European institutions. She is the Acting Head of Unit of Editing and Clear Writing in the European Commission - and has over 11 years under her belt as a translator of Scandinavian languages, Estonian and Hungarian. She shares her manifesto for fighting Eurojargon.
A quick overview for the uninitiated:
The newsletter is divided into three sections - stories, ideas and skills.
The content is mostly shared in Google Doc format, with comments enabled.
Please leave comments, share more content, elaborate and ask questions - I do reply, read and appreciate them!
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1. Stories
10 reasons why reading poetry will improve your writing
Ben Ray is a multi-award winning poet and writer. He has worked across the European institutions in various communications roles, and is currently in the European Parliament as a copywriter. In this piece he shares some reflections on how reading poetry can improve your writing.
A manifesto for fighting Eurojargon
Rosie ter Beek works in the European Commission and fights on the front line of the battle for clearer language and more open communication. She is steeped in language, having worked as an editor, and for 11 years as a translator from Scandinavian languages, Estonian and Hungarian. Below she shares her manifesto for why - and how - we should fight euro-jargon.
2. Ideas
Speechwriting tips: Writing to be heard
In this piece, Ben Ray and I will share some tips on writing to be heard. We avoid going deeply into the techniques of persuasion and other speechwriting tropes, instead focusing on some practical tips on how to make listening to a speech easier on an audience, while delivering messages effectively.
Recommended reads on writing
Some recommended reads on writing from friends, colleagues and connections - with thanks to wordsmiths Craig Winneker, Gareth Harding, Kristina Kardum, Martin Shovel, Alan Beattie, Fintan Burke, Laura Shields, Ruairi Hickson, Alia Papageorgiou, Marcin Mońko, Eoghan Walsh, Alexander Drechsel and Daniel Mouqué. I could not include all the recommendations, but you can check out the full list on Twitter.
3. Skills
Clear writing for policy communication
When preparing communications materials, it can be challenging to stay clear and concise. This is especially true when writing on a topic that you’re invested in or know a lot about. In this post I look at some characteristics of good writing for policy communication and try to point out a few common pitfalls.
Writing styles for online platforms
Each online platform has distinct audiences, architectures and functions - and all of these come together to shape the communities and the styles of communication that emerge in those spaces. In this piece I explore and discuss different approaches to copywriting on a few platforms. A special thanks to Ana Alegre for her time and advice!
Some recommendations
Sebastian Rodriguez’s excellent piece on communicating the Conference on the Future of Europe.
Just started reading Six Faces of Globalization: Who Wins, Who Loses, and Why It Matters by Anthea Roberts and Nicolas Lamp. Interesting and thoughtful exploration of narratives that have emerged around globalisation.
Previous newsletter contributor Bea Rios appearing to discuss the State of the European Union speech on the excellent podcast The Europeans.
Another previous newsletter contributor Pablo Perez shares three lessons on running creative campaigns.
Marco Ricorda’s blog on promoting balanced narratives in migration around Europe.
Dave Keating’s thread arguing that English shouldn’t be taught as a “foreign” language.
You really outdid yourself this time, Tom. Congrats!