We’ve just been recruiting.
And once again we’ve noticed the absolute dearth of people who can write.
I don’t just mean stringing a grammatical sentence together – although standards on that basic front are getting poorer and poorer.
It’s about constructing an argument.
Proposition, context, counterpoint, debate, evaluation, conclusion. Basically, the ability to write a good essay. It’s just not being taught well enough – right from junior school onwards.
Why? Because (in some large part, I contend) because of this constant devaluation of arts subjects in favour of the total obsession with STEM. Of course, it’s really important that science subjects are well represented for the future of our society and economy. The world needs coders and data scientists.
But the baby seems to have gone the way of the bathwater.
Social media is also to blame. The instant message requiring no aforethought (often with disastrously offensive consequences) and certainly no grammar or punctuation.
Even in the most hallowed halls of academia, the problem is rearing its head. I heard of a friend’s child who, after a term at one of the country’s most prestigious universities, was told they had to do an extra module for the rest of their first year… the module’s name?… “How to write an essay.” Yet this was a phenomenally bright student in every other way.
Spelling has gone out of the window. ‘There’ (a position) substituted for ‘their’ (belonging to them); ‘stationary’ (not moving) for ‘stationery’ (paper and pens); it’s (it is) for its (possessive).
This is dumb… it is lazy… yet it is widespread.
In business, what company wants its public face to be represented by ill-educated, incorrect language? We demand – by law – that financial services documents and contracts are clear and understandable. Why? Because clear, simple communication avoids terrible problems and injustices. Equally, a company doesn’t want to have anything than easily understandable, clear, compelling words as it presents itself to the outside world. And getting it wrong, or unclear, can have dire consequences of misunderstanding in this context too.
In our business, we actively welcome arts graduates. They can write. They can put a clear, logical, readable argument together. They can express in relatively few words what an untutored person struggles to get across in many words.
It is an art. It is a skill. And it’s just as important to economic growth as having computer scientists and engineers!
So let’s hear it for arts graduates and A-levels. A world of scientists who cannot express themselves and are unable to think laterally or debate a topic is not a world that fills me with joy.
I hope you find these bulletins entertaining. I’m happy to discuss all relevant engagements – from customer community creation, to directorial mentoring, to strategy development, to thought-leadership content development, to full campaign structuring and management, and more.
Do get in touch!
