When we talk about communication style, we can approach the subject from numerous points of view, from the most general to the most specific; for this reason, it is important to identify the aspects that interest us or are most useful to us and try to explore them further.
In this article, we focus mainly on the communication style of texts, because copywriting is often undervalued, despite being one of the fundamental elements of communication.
The meaning of the word “style”
The word “style” derives from the Latin stĭlus (stylus), which indicated a pointed rod with which the ancients wrote on wax tablets. Over time, the meaning of this word, which defined a tool created for practical use, has been associated with an abstract concept. We talk about style in clothing, furniture, behavior and – now more and more – in communication.
So what is style? Dictionaries define it as a set of recurring elements that make a certain activity recognizable, usually a creative one. Recognizability, in our era so crowded with information, is a precious asset: this is why style is so important. Being recognizable means not only emerging, but communicating something about oneself that goes beyond the surface, and it is beyond the surface that the value of people, products, services, and companies is found.
Style, therefore, is not just an aesthetic or superficial choice, but a real vehicle for values and ways of seeing the world. If every outfit or accessory we wear – including the way we style our hair – speaks about us, we can be sure that this also happens with words, which become the way we dress our products or services.
What are the communication styles?
There is no single classification valid for everyone, precisely because style is a set of elements that work in synergy with each other. However, it is useful to provide a guideline that can serve as a starting point when we need to create or modify a text: this guideline is based on the functions the text must perform.
Editorial style
We speak of editorial style when we encounter a set of rules defined to give uniformity to the writing of multiple people working, for example, for a newspaper, which can also be grouped under the name of “editorial standards.”
In some cases, editorial standards refer specifically to technical elements such as the use of punctuation, italics, foreign words, or the names of works and publications; in other cases, we can find actual guides that also provide directions designed for the way of writing. An interesting example of style guides comes from The Economist, a weekly newspaper on economics and current affairs founded in the United Kingdom in 1843.
The guide, now in its twelfth edition, is a real book, interesting to read especially in the introductory part (Preface and Introduction), where we can find a series of style tips, useful not only to journalists but also to all those who write for a living. The guide also focuses heavily on the differences between British English and American English.
Expository style
Expository or descriptive style is the most used style because it brings a sentence structure similar to the one we use in spoken discourse to texts, although it requires much more attention and precision than the latter.
At a macroscopic level, we can divide expository style into hypotactic and paratactic style:
- In hypotactic style, we mainly use subordinate clauses and a more complex structure; it is a choice that lends itself well to information-rich texts, although we must take into account that reading subordinate clauses requires a greater cognitive load for comprehension;
- In paratactic style, we find mainly complete sentences separated by periods, and few subordinates; it is a simpler style to read, but requires more attention in choosing the hierarchy of information: the reader might indeed have difficulty connecting them.
Telegraphic style
Telegraphic style takes the text to extreme synthesis, for reasons of space and to adapt to fast reading. Think, for example, of road signs, newspaper headlines, tables, emergency instructions, or error messages we encounter while browsing the web.
To use this style, it is not enough to eliminate articles and prepositions, but we are required to carefully choose every word to ensure the message is immediately understandable without the possibility of error.
Those who work as copywriters know the difficulty of creating effective and engaging headlines, particularly when there is a precise limit on the number of characters and spaces that can be used.
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How to improve your communication style?
When we write, it comes naturally to us to take style for granted: what makes the difference is actually the way we adapt our natural style to the context of use or the function required of the text.
If we write for ourselves or for our blog, the keyword is practice: it is important to read as much as possible and write as much as possible. We must observe, assimilate technique from the authors we love, and test ourselves with texts of different natures. Only in this way can we learn and improve over time.
The same advice is useful for texts commissioned by other people, although in this case experimentation must be used with caution. When we write for a client, in fact, the most important step is getting to know the person in front of us, understanding their ideas, their expectations, and their way of communicating.
It is not always easy to express the identity of the person who commissioned the project through language, and certainly our style will emerge from the text in some way. This situation recalls the six thinking hats exercise to stimulate lateral thinking: if we associate a different style with each hat and identify the hat best suited to the client’s idea, we can have a base on which to build the various contents.
We can find other insights in the theory of Jungian Archetypes, which helps us identify the personality and values of a person or a brand. Each archetype represents a way of living and communicating, which is why the theory can prove to be a great source of ideas when we need to define the style with which we will create the requested content.
However, we must remember the importance of practice: the more texts we write for a client, the easier it will be to meet their needs.
For all these reasons, it is fundamental, before starting to write, to plan the communication strategy as best as possible, which should include:
- Identifying objectives
- Studying competitors
- Defining the target audience
- Choosing the tone of voice
- Developing the editorial plan
- Indications on visual style (images and graphics)
- Searching for inspiration even from sources that seem very different from each other
To work on the copywriting of a complete project, we need these elements, without forgetting the understanding of the values and ideas the client tells us and, last but not least, our creativity. The communication style will be consistent if we have assimilated all the characteristics that make up the project.
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Writing is a gesture we learn from a young age and that often seems natural but, as with many activities, it needs rules that help creativity be effective relative to the goals we must achieve with the text.
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