You know your business better than anyone else. You probably started the business, or perhaps a family member did. Either way, you know it intimately. You know every process, every customer, every supplier, every challenge. You know the industry and you know its language.
But step outside your zone of familiarity for a moment, and look at your world with an outsider’s eyes. Do they see it how you see it, and can they understand it like you? If you speak in a language that only you, or people in your business/industry know then you’re immediately alienating the person reading your submission.
And if you know it so well, how do you know if you’re writing in a language no one else will understand? After all, you’ve re-read it and it sounds great. You know what you’re talking about. But will the judges?
Some key points to ensure they do:
Avoid jargon and technical talk
While industry-specific acronyms and abbreviations may be part of everyday language in your business, they don’t have a place in your Awards submission. The same applies to technical language that is not able to be understood by the majority of people.
You want your judges to feel welcomed, engaged, and able to truly understand your business. Using words that are foreign to them will be a barrier to achieving each of these.
If you feel that use of industry-specific terms are required, be sure to explain them. Just be succinct in your explanation.
Use plain language
While long, fancy words may seem to dress up a piece of writing, it’s tiring to read. You can write in a clever and compelling way without using words you wouldn’t ordinarily use.
Plain language doesn’t mean boring and it doesn’t mean bullet points. It just means use words that everyone knows, words that people use every day, and that don’t require a visit to the dictionary.
Spelling and grammar
It’s a little bit obvious, but you need to strive for a submission that is free of spelling mistakes and typos. Your judges will enjoy reading your submission so much more if they don’t have to stumble over mistakes.
MS Word has a spell check tool – use it. Its grammar check tool isn’t flawless, but it’s a great back-up if you don’t have confidence in your own grammatical capability.
Short, succinct sentences
When it comes to words, less is always more. Long, clunky sentences that require you to go back and re-read can generally be avoided. Where possible, break up long, difficult sentences into two, and use punctuation to clearly segment your messages.
An outsider’s perspective
It’s critical that you get someone from outside your business, and ideally outside your industry, to read your submission and give feedback on its readability. Ask your accountant, ask your lawyer (assuming they won’t charge you!), ask a trusted friend or peer.
They don’t need to critique your entire entry (although you do want someone to do that for you), but you do want them to tell you honestly whether they understand every word in your submission.
Final review and proofread
Make sure you do one final proofread before submission.
Ready to enter the Awards? Enter here – but you better hurry! You’ve got less than one week to go until they close at 5.00pm on 30th June!