Style isn’t universal

Well I have been at the Department of Transport (DoT) for nearly two weeks now and have noticed something glaringly obvious. Style or more specifically writing style isn’t standard at any work place. Sounds silly yes but upon starting here and reading through page after page of policies and forms and style guides and writing guides, all of which clearly outline a succinct and consistent approach to producing written documents, I have found that even with these guides there is still plenty of room for creativeness.

One of the first exercises or activities I was given was to write a newsflash for the intranet here at DoT so naturally I looked at some of the existing newsflashes to see the structure and flow. Then I double checked the writing guide to ensure that I was conforming to the style in that document. Finally I researched some existing media on the topic to ensure I was using consistent language to what had already been produced so as to mirror the overarching communications strategy which the Department adheres to. So with all of that preparation you’d imagine that I would come up with something that resembles a remotely usable newsflash for publication. Well no to discredit my work too much but simply put I didn’t. I had the main points and key messages spot on but what I didn’t realise is that the structure and style guides allow for a little interpretation. Restructuring information and dispersing it in a different order can have a remarkable effect on the way a piece reads.

While I wasn’t too disappointed for my first attempt it was difficult to think that I was able to get it so wrong. However after discussion with my supervisor and more with some of the other staff here I realised that policies and guides are just that, guides. They are open to interpretation and how one person reads them can be very different to another. The guides are produced for a reason so it is still important that you follow them and ensure messages are delivered in a consistent fashion. However what is most important is making sure all of the critical information is in the document. How it’s delivered will differ from person to person and that’s about developing your own style. It’s great to be able to adapt your style and conform but it’s still important to have your own little stamp on things, make them your own. This is a hard art to master but I think it’s one that can set people apart from the rest. Having your own style not only sets you apart but, I think, helps make sure you can still take pride in your work by knowing you have met organisational requirements yet still having a bit of you and your flare present in everything you do.