How to Write Like a Consultant

Have you ever had a writing assignment that required you to write in a new language? I don't mean a foreign language--just a new one.

I recently began preparing to ghostwrite for a consulting firm. I'd glanced over such articles in the past. But this time I needed to take a deep dive. I was surprised to learn how different it was from everyday English. So the first step I needed to take was to become familiar with the words, phrases, and syntax used in this fairly arcane world.

I began by reading through a number of articles already published by the firm. As I read, I used a ConceptDraw mindmap to begin to capture and categorize the language:

I noticed right away that the verbs used by the consultants were different from the ones I normally use. So I just started typing them into the map, along with accompanying words to help me understand the context in which the words were used:

I did the same with the other major parts of speech, such as adjectives:

I also started a branch in the map to capture some of the tendencies in the writing. Part of the magic of writing like a consultant, it seems, it creating long, meandering sentences--and using passive verbs.

Like all professionals, consultants also use a smattering of "terms of art" and acronyms for which I had to find definitions. I'm keeping them in the map as well:

And as I read an article, I add it to the "Articles Reviewed" so I know which articles I've already parsed for the map.

There is much more to learning to "write like a consultant." But having a concise way to capture and organize this niche language is a good first step.

Website Creation Rule #1: Think First (cont'd)

In the previous post , I created the general skeleton for my new freelance writer's website. Now I'm going to add some content.

The first thing I want to do is to start composing the messages I want to appear on each page. In the first post, I made a list of the major areas I work in, each of which will be its own page on my new site:

• Media Campaigns
• Social Media Campaigns
• Content Creation
• Influencer Programs
• Customer Evangelist Programs

Create Content Right Inside the Map

I want to start sketching out my ideas for each page. So I create a "Note" that is automtically attached to each branch of the map:

I work my way through the list, making notes of what I want to say on each page. When I collapse the Notes window to reduce clutter on the screen, all that remains is just a small icon:

I can also put in icons to let me know at a glance how far along I think I am in getting to final copy for each page:

Add Links to External Content

The other thing I want to do is add links to examples of my writing. I do that by opening up a browser, navigating to the examples, then just dragging the URL onto the appropriate :sub-branch" branch of the "Content Creation" branch:

The beauty of using ConceptDraw MINDMAP to design your website is that you can:

1. Aggregate all these different kinds of content into one document.
2. Add icons that communicate information without words, making the document more compact.
3. Get a broad overview of how you're designing the site.

See Your Site as a Whole Entity

As you look at the overall map, it's easy to see what's missing from the site. You can go back into the map and create placeholders for other pages you know will be on the site, as well as any thoughts you have on content.

The use of visual icons just makes the map more concise and maybe a bit more entertaining and fun to create than a regular outline or list:

Try it Yourself!

These two posts give you just a brief overview of how to use mind mapping to design your website. The ways writers can use mind mapping is just about endless. Get a trial version and play around with it!

3 Keys to Writing 4 Articles About 5 Ways to Succeed

I have spent time lately browsing around to see what kind of business writing tips are available on the web. Pretty flat landscape... IMHO. Blogs are full of clever little articles that follow the hackneyed format of providing X number of tips, tricks, and trivia (8 Ways to Build Your Blog Traffic, 10 Things That Make Great Headlines, 15 Ways to Make Your Team More Team-Like, 297 Ways to Run a Better Meeting).

I've read the studies that say this format generates more traffic. But in my experience after you read five or ten of these, you've pretty much had your fill. I mean, can everything really be reduced to a handful of crisp bullet points?

I was talking to a friend who tweets. I was telling her that it seems like 90% of the tweets I get are much the same--nothing more than armchair philosophizing: "To serve the meal of success one must first taste failure"; "It is only by talking that we truly communicate" and so on... You could sit around all day and make these things up. But she said the sends out a lot of that stuff because people love it. I don't get it.

I'm not saying that blogs or tweets needs to be masterworks of literature. I just think it would be refeshing if people blogged about things they cared about, rather than trying to come up quick and easy ways to "fill a page." It just seems like so many people have blogs because... because they want to be bloggers, I guess.

I'm a writer, and I think it is great when people are moved to put words down on the page. I just think it would be better for all if there was some connection, some emotion in what is being written. Otherwise, we reduce or our common body of thought to a vortex of numbered lists about numbered lists.