01
The importance of style: an overview
Effective communication demands clear, consistent style. Everyone in public relations – whether in-house or a consultancy practitioner – should put style at the top of their priority list. This book is about the various characteristics of the written and spoken word, or the manner of writing and speaking; in other words the style, the ultimate hallmark of professionalism. It is not about English grammar, although it touches upon some of the hotly argued rules that tend to be the territory of the pedant. The basic terminology of grammar is explained in online Appendix 1 to enable the reader to check upon the technicalities and to provide a refresher if needed.
The following chapters enlarge upon the topics discussed in my regular column in the IPR Journal since 1993 and in the CIPR’s Profile magazine from November 1999 to March 2010, and subsequently in the CIPR’s digital newsletter, The Conversation. The interest generated by these articles led me to embark upon this work which, it is hoped, will lead to a greater awareness of the importance of style. First, pay close attention to what newspapers and magazines do, and also to developments in book publishing. As soon as a new book comes out on style and usage, get a copy and start a collection. This will be invaluable when you want to establish a set of house rules, to update an existing one, or just for day-to-day reference. Set up a library of books on English style and usage that is accessible to everyone – not just to your own department but to everyone in the organisation – from managers to office juniors. A list of such books will be found in the Further Reading section at the end. Some newspaper style guides, for example those issued by the Guardian, The Economist and The Times, can be viewed online.
Style on the move
Style changes fast. Compare, for instance, a magazine or newspaper of today with one printed only a few decades ago: overuse of capitals, stilted phraseology and solid slabs of type unrelieved by subheadings were all commonplace in the 1950s and 1960s. Even now, it is not hard to find press releases ridden with banalities, boring headlines, ‘label’ headings devoid of verb and verve, poorly punctuated reports and letters; and, probably worst of all, inconsistencies in spelling (let alone howlers like ‘one foul swoop’ and ‘rekkernise’ from BBC newcasters).
The ignorance which surrounds modern style trends emanates through lack of interest in the subject. For young people entering the competitive world of communications it is essential to have a grasp of the basics: to know, for instance, that media and data are plural nouns, to understand the difference between a colon and a semi-colon, to appreciate that a dash and a hyphen are not the same thing. (It was this last point, incidentally, which led to my first ‘Verbals’ column in the IPR Journal, later titled Profile.)
Some will no doubt wonder what all the fuss is about. But the hyphen masquerading as a dash is symptomatic of the lax attitude towards style; few keyboard operators bother whether style is consistent, or even know what it means. So it is up to the public relations practitioner – in fact all professional communicators – to get the message across that consistent style matters in everything an organisation does.
The way we all write has changed dramatically over the last few years, often without our even noticing it. Information technology has brought scores of new words. Newspapers and magazines have led style changes: hyphens are dropped to make one word, two-word phrases become one. All this reduces clutter, speeds up the copy and helps the reader. Unless we keep up with style trends we soon become outdated, out of step with everyone else. And a reminder: make sure you edit your copy, follow house style and watch out for inconsistencies as you go along. They are just as important as getting facts and figures right.
Appreciating style
Acquiring a grounding in grammar is not enough: the finer points of style and presentation will often make all the difference between a good and a mediocre publication – between a stodgy leaflet or complex, wordy brochure and one which is lively and appealing. This means printwork or digital copy that promotes a product or service and turns a glancer into a reader; that tells a story succinctly and in plain language; and is consistent in every respect. If this is achieved then the style has worked, communication has done its job and the public relations effort has paid off.
It is essential for everyone in PR and communications to have an appreciation of style so that the reader, or receiver of the message, is on the side of the sender from the outset. Just as important is visual presentation style: well-crafted slides where the logo is always the same size and colour, and text mirroring the typeface, are but two essential requirements for a corporate identity – the hallmark of a successful and profitable company or organisation.
Packs and display panels with a recognisable visual style are instantly identified with the company and product. If that happens, the PR effort has worked and produced tangible results. Clear, unambiguous, concise copy written like a front-page news story is usually the best means of getting your message across and making it work for you, your company or your client. There are other times, however, when a more measured style is appropriate – much depends on the target audience and the marketing objectives.
It is important when looking at your style that you take tone of voice into account. As discussed more fully in Chapter 20, the tone you adopt for print and on-screen publications, correspondence and all other communications must be warm, friendly, easily understood and free of jargon and technospeak. How you go about this is, of course, a matter for management decision, but once agreed it should be followed rigorously and should be included as a major item in your rules for house style.
Your organisation’s style
Style extends beyond the confines of publications and the printed word in packaging. It applies to the livery for your delivery van or lorry; to news releases; to film; to audio-visuals; to print and online news releases; to radio and TV broadcasts; to how your story is put over in speeches at conferences and seminars; the platform arrangements; product labelling and design; office stationery; the layout and wording of the website; and even to the way your receptionist answers the telephone. Stick to the style you have adopted in absolutely everything concerning your company or your client’s products and services. Think about it in all the tasks you perform. Is it consistent? Is it doing justice to your endeavours? Is it, in fact, good PR?
There are a number of style guides to assist you and some of the best known are mentioned in later chapters. They deal mainly with the printed word, for that is where style is most important and where guidance is often needed. Journalists are inculcated with a sense of style from the moment they join a newspaper or magazine, and it is helpful to see how the print and online media treat the printed word. Most newspapers produce style guides for their editorial staff and it is worthwhile asking for copies.
There is, for instance, wide variation between one newspaper or magazine and another in the use of titles, the way dates are set out, and how abbreviations are handled. When writing articles for the press you should preferably key the copy in the publication’s style, so check on the way figures are set; how names are written; when and where capitals are used; how quotes are dealt with; whether copy is set ragged right or justified with both edges aligned; whether -ise or -ize endings are used. A public relations executive who writes material specifically for a target medium and follows its style has a far better chance of getting material published than one who ignores it.
Press releases should follow the general style adopted by newspapers for the treatment of quotations, for example double quote marks rather than single, with short sentences and paragraphs. If points like these are all followed then the subeditor will be on the writer’s side, and your copy is less likely to be changed. This is certainly a bonus for the public relations executive if the chairman’s favourite phrase remains unaltered!
PR practitioners must also keep abreast of style trends in broadcasting and in social media platforms: radio and TV stations usually have their own rules for scripts. The BBC has its own style guide for presenters and contributors; to take a recent example, they are told that it is memorandums not memoranda, an argument with listeners that was settled in a flash on Radio Four’s Broadcasting House.
Keep it consistent
There is nothing sacrosanct about style: it is constantly changing, with spellings, ‘vogue’ words and phrases falling into disuse, to be replaced smartly by new ones. Favourite sayings become clichés, and myths that infinitives must not be split, that sentences must never end with a preposition or start with ‘but’ or ‘and’, that job titles must always be capitalised and never put a comma before ‘and’, are now mainly discarded.
On the other hand, some style rules like never starting a sentence with a figure, or numbers up to and including ten always being spelt out unless they are part of a table or figure, are still firmly established in style books. But whatever you decide on, keep it consistent throughout the whole piece.
Points to watch
Be on your guard against repetition, or using the wrong word and putting your reader off for good. Perhaps it won’t be noticed, but mostly it will. Imply is not the same as infer; there are no degrees of uniqueness (something is either unique or it isn’t); fewer than is often used for less than and vice versa (fewer is not interchangeable with less); and so on. Keep it simple and understandable: use short rather than long words, write snappy sentences, cut out jargon and over-worked words, and leave foreign words to the specialist journal. But don’t hesitate, occasionally, to launch into ‘Franglais’ (le Weekend) or German-English (Die Teenagers) or even ein steadyseller (for the bookshop) to provide a breather and a spot of humour.
Usage differs enormously: English is spoken as a first language by up to 400 million people throughout the world (257 million in the United States alone, 60 million in the...