…is sound judgement (Horace).
I’ve often felt the pang of deep regret at dropping out of my law degree two years into it. Personal emergencies and family commitments saw me put what I thought was my life’s purpose on the back burner – and it’s been simmering there ever since.
However, looking in the rear-view mirror today, I’ve now redefined this self-disappointment as a virtue. As we all know (if not always consciously) major disappointments are often defining moments in our lives.
Those two years of legal writing set me up for a career in copywriting. They taught me how to frame an issue, set out an argument and present evidence to back up claims. It’s all about unpicking complexities within the law to reveal truths and arguing a position with crystal clarity. You have to provide structure, logic and a consistent narrative that delivers against the objective of the assignment – sloppy writing is not an option here.
And the devil really does lurk in the details…. details that can create or destroy you in a flash. A flimsy argument, a miscited case precedent or a missing contractual clause can bring down a case quicker than you can say ‘Elizabeth Holmes’.
It’s also through this law school experience that I learned to become a more discerning reader. I learned to discard the verbal fluff so as to critically examine the words before me. While being accepting of a writer’s foibles, I learned to evaluate the metamessage behind what they are outwardly saying to ensure I walk away from a read all the wiser. Or at least try to do so.
Today, it pains me to read incomplete arguments presented in the mainstream media. While wildly false information runs the gamut, from QAnon conspiracies to bizarre tales linking 5G mobile phone masts to the spread of coronavirus, I actually think it’s the seemingly innocuous details that pose the greater risk.
The COVID-19 pandemic weighs heavy on all our hearts, and yet the information we are fed by the media leaves gaping holes in our understanding of the situation. The approach to counting coronavirus deaths is opaque. For example, the BBC provides death statistics reflecting those who have died with the virus and not of the virus. Without context, such tallies are misleading and prevent us from making informed decisions about how best to collectively live our lives through the pandemic.
Likewise, a ‘green’ or ‘CO2 neutral’ label attached to a piece of technology can’t always be taken at face value. A product lifecycle assessment can reveal deeper truths. While an electric car may not produce any C02 emissions, the production, charging and recycling of its batteries can be unsustainable. Low-quality net-zero commitments do us a disservice as they can derail the clean energy transition and slow down the climate fight.
Last week, the Danish Consumer Ombudsman stated that it will become illegal to use the word ‘sustainable’ without a thorough lifecycle assessment to back up claims. Any company discovered to be greenwashing may be fined to the tune of millions.
Money talks.
I hope such movements will soon mean that there will be no piece of marketing content published that is higher than the truth.
A great copywriter not only produces emotionally-charged stories. They not only maintain adherence to style guides and writing conventions in a bid to annoy fewer grammar pedants. They also take responsibility for verifying numbers like dates and statistics to ensure accuracy. And they clarify the merits of an argument.
Because, just like with legal writing, bad judgement and factual errors can be costly.