Educational Literature is about Articulating Highly Sophisticated Ideas for a Common Audience.
Malcolm Gladwell said, “Your first goal is to be pure and simple–to write at an 8th-grade level, but with ideas that are super-sophisticated.”
When it comes to creating educational materials as a highly-specialized professional, speaking the ‘common language’ can become exceptionally difficult. After all, if you simplify too much, it sounds as though you’re condescending–whereas if you don’t simplify enough, it will sound like you’re speaking jargon.
Understanding complex and nuanced concepts and ‘translating’ for non-expert clients, board members, panels, or investors, is an extremely powerful tool for any highly technical business–and our primary area of expertise.
White Papers – The Primary Tool of Business Education
‘White papers’ are materials created to explain technical concepts, usually to higher-ups or clients. As such, they can be considerably involved, and major financial decisions often hinge on the quality and readability of these papers.
Before submitting a white paper, at the very least you should have an experienced professional take a thorough copy-editing pass to ensure that your case is stated clearly and effectively.
Reports & Updates that Inspire Confidence
A well-written report is a sign of confidence. And while they aren’t quite as pivotal to the sales process as proposals and white papers, they can still have a major influence on the satisfaction of your clients, particularly when they include proposed changes or unforeseen delays.
A with any literature that your clients, shareholders, or board members are going to see, all of your reports and updates should at least be copy-edited for quality.
Take-Home & Third-Party Educational Materials
The umbrella of ‘educational materials’ can cover anything from informational brochures to textbooks, to instruction manuals, to newspaper articles, to full-length publications.
The quality of these materials is particularly important: readability and engagement are major factors in how easy your educational materials are to follow, how likely your audience is to read it, and, ultimately, how effective your educational materials are. Quality will also greatly increase the likelihood that the reader will hang onto the material, either for personal reference or to lend to another.
For your educational materials, we strongly recommend seeking professional writing assistance from an experienced writer.
