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"This porridge is just right"

"This porridge is too hot". "And this porridge is too cold". "But this porridge is just right". Goldilocks's taste test of the bears' breakfast provides insight how to choose a financial writer.

It is said that if you want a job done properly you should do it yourself. But time-pressed bankers, fund managers, marketing and communications people are sometimes obliged to delegate writing tasks to trusted agents.

Financial writing is typical of projects that need to be outsourced: often the job is simply urgent, it needs someone who can complete it in time to meet a looming deadline for a speech or a newspaper article. Sometimes communicating complex issues to be addressed in, say, an annual report, thought leadership paper or case study may be too time-consuming for a busy executive.

Lost in the woods - or the trees?

Writing material can be a challenge for an expert: they may be so steeped in the language of their field that they can’t see the wood for the trees. That is a barrier when they have to convey a concept, a narrative or an enthusiasm for their complex subject to a wider audience whose attention needs to be secured who may have a sketchy grasp of the subject matter.

Subject specialists can do the job and may have the knowledge, but they often lack the vital ability to be able to communicate clearly and concisely. In these circumstances, the porridge would definitely be, "Too hot".

Writers have expertise and experience in a wide range of disciplines. However, someone who is an authority on, and can write with a great elegance about, architecture and the built environment, wouldn’t be the choice for drafting a speech for a banker about prospects for interest rates. The time consumed explaining bonds, Treasuries and Gilts to an architectural specialist would be wholly disproportionate in the management time required to brief them. Here it is clear the porridge would be, "Too cold".

Just right

Getting porridge that is "Just right" means finding someone who has a knowledge and understanding of the subject matter that enables them to quickly and intelligently explore the issues with the originator of the project.

If a financial writer has direct experience and engagement in financial markets they can "hit the ground running": they know the background and what questions to ask to clarify the brief.

Audience participation

The writers' background must also mean they understand the audience to which a message is to be communicated. The financial writer needs to appreciate what the audience wants to receive in the communication. Perhaps more importantly, the writer needs to grasp what messaging the client wants to convey to and how that will impact the audience.

This requires the ability not only to articulate complexities in an accessible way, but an understanding of nuance and the use of narrative to express concepts with authority in a way that will engage the readership, the audience or the marketplace.

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