What Makes Writing Effective

Whereas concerning the matter of the case at the bar notwithstanding and subsequently owing to the fact that with respect to the said matter pursuant to hereinafter over a period of time it is clear that the aforementioned must cease and desist.

Poor writing – ineffective, confusing, often irritating – we know it when we hear it. And with the explosion of online content we hear it and see it more than ever.

Now comes before the microphone Rick Horowitz, founder and Wordsmith in Chief of Prime Prose, LLC. Rick believes that more effective writing makes anyone more effective at work. Notwithstanding, he graduated from New York University School of Law and briefly worked for a Washington law firm. Later, Rick made his living as a writer – he was an Emmy Award-winning commentator for Milwaukee Public Television and a long-time nationally syndicated newspaper columnist.

Today, Rick Horowitz offers courses in writing, editing, and messaging services to institutions and organizations across the country. For the DC Bar Association later this month, Rick will try to show lawyers how to write more like…actual humans. At least some of the time.

“They sort of know how to write – if by that you mean lawyers can put together sentences, they can put together occasional paragraphs, and they know the things about which they’re writing,” he tells CCC’s Chris Kenneally. “But if you mean that they can communicate effectively, that they can communicate clearly, that they can adjust their writing to a variety of different audiences – not so much.

“So that’s what I try to do,” Horowitz explains. “I remind them of those kinds of considerations and offer attendees some tools and tips to help them navigate those different kinds of messages they need to send to different kinds of audiences to accomplish different things.”