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From time to time, I conduct workshops or seminars on writing for business and educational media. About half way through the workshop, someone often raises his/her hand to ask: "What do you do about boring subjects?"
That's when I get on my soapbox: "There's no such thing as a boring subject-only boring writing. It's our job to discover what will bring the subject to life for the target audience." In a sense, this is every writer's universal challenge. Boring an audience-any audience-is the cardinal sin.
Ho-hum writing results from a bored author. The author's responsibility to an audience is to discover what makes each subject inherently interesting. To turn an audience on, the writer must first become invested in the subject. As Rachel Carson (who managed to find best-seller material in the subject of DDT in her book Silent Spring) wrote: "The discipline of the writer is to learn to be still and listen to what his subject has to say to him."
Sometimes, looking at subject matter from the target audience's perspective can fire the imagination. Why does the audience need this information? How will they use the information on the job? What action should the audience take after viewing the presentation? How will they be changed by the viewing experience? Shining a bright light on the "why" of the message often yields insight into an original approach to telling the story.
Telling a "story" is as important to the media writer as it is for a screenwriter. Audiences relate to stories emotionally as well as intellectually. If the media writer looks upon the content as nothing more than cold, dry facts-the writing is likely to lack a shred of passion or conviction.
The truth is, however, that many subjects corporate and educational writers tackle are difficult. The content may be abstract. But it is the writer's responsibility to bring the abstract to life. To make the difficult subject less intimidating. That is the contract we make with our audience.
So when someone asks: "What do you do with a boring subject?"-I get on my soapbox.
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