Listen up: you already know good content

Three years ago, pearls around my neck and resume in hand, I had an interview at an impressive-sounding government agency in downtown DC. I probably should have expected their first question, “Why go from websites to speechwriting?”

Although I didn’t end up taking the job, the question stuck with me. What seems obvious to me isn’t so obvious to everyone else: digital content and speechwriting have the same challenges and the same goals.

• We’re dealing with short attention spans.

• We want to be memorable.

• We need to persuade.

Because they’re so alike, the tried-and-tested rules of speechwriting can be applied to digital content. The same elements that make the State of the Union good, make your blog post good.

Here’s what we’ll cover in this session:

• The rules of good content.

• Examples of the rules in stuff you already know – like speeches, movies, music, and more.

• How you can apply the rules to your web content.

People working with legacy content will be able to separate the good from the bad. They will know what content needs to be reworked or retired.

People generating content will understand how to support their goals. They will leave with a structural and stylistic roadmap they can use next time they write.

But the key is, at the end of the session, attendees will understand what makes content memorable, persuasive, and easy to digest.