Creativity: The Most Important Element of Business Writing

As a Theatre Arts major, and a patron of all the arts, I value creativity.  Though business is much more utilitarian field than theatre, I feel that communication in business benefits greatly from the use of one’s imagination. Each element of a document can benefit from creativity and innovation to create a more effective piece of writing, much like the left, logical half of the brain can be enhanced by the originality of the right half of the brain.

Creativity is a given when it comes to the design of a document. Design requires the writer use his or her creativity to command the reader’s attention. Effective design takes a drab, black and white blob and transforms it into something more. Fonts are chosen and enlarged and spaces and lines are used to create distinctions between sections of the document. Pictures are added to enhance the argument of a document. An effective design invites a reader in and excites them about the topic at hand. Without originality in the design, a document will have not have this affect.

Organization of a piece of writing can also benefit from a creative touch. A written work ought to have a flow to it, with transitions that carry a reader smoothly from one point to the next. It should read as a slow, meticulous paint stroke might feel. The ingenuity of the order in which topics are laid out and the transitions between them help to create a more unified, sophisticated, and effective document.

Content benefits the most from using creativity. With art, the goal is to create something that no one else has thought of before. This is difficult, however, because of the sheer mass of innovative ideas. The best way to overcome this obstacle is to put a new twist on an old tale; take what you know and present it in a new way. Those in business must do the same thing. The trick of a successful piece of writing might be a new point of view, or a reversal of tactics. Content must be complete, correct, and clear, but it can do so in an original way. The innovations in content will draw in readers more effectively.

Style, like design, lends itself to creativity. Words must be strung together in a way that creates a clear image for the reader.  Common, easily understood words should of course be used, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use the same words in a new way.  The sentences and paragraphs can be used to create a world exactly to the specifications of the reader. By using inspiring words in a new way, you can successfully transport the reader to that new world, and convince them that it is real and wonderful.

Theatre likes to be extravagant and creative, and I think business ought to follow suit.  Without creativity and imagination, there is little spirit to captivate and audience. And if you can’t captivate an audience, convincing them will be even harder.