How to write something someone will read

Ask yourself the three big questions every story needs to answer

I read lots of stories in company publications and, through our consulting work, on their intranets.

Scads of them, I’m sorry to say, just aren’t very good. Or certainly not as good as they could be.

We all know the reasons why so much content is so very crappy. Yet here we are, smack dab in the middle of the Golden Age of Communications. (Note the caps; I’ve decided this is an era and deserves a proper name.)

Print has rediscovered its purpose, online is thriving at the center of the communications universe and social media is spurring interaction, in all its many forms, as never before.

But you still have to string together the right combination of words that will persuade people to give up a few precious moments of their ridiculously harried days to read, watch or listen.

So while we’re busy launching all the cool new communication channels, let’s not forget to answer the three hefty questions that drive everything about any piece of content.