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Welcome to everyone’s favorite television clichés.
But to Write with Balls, you’ll need to kick clichés in the butt.
How?
Write the way your audience talks. We call it lingo: the special words that people or groups use. The right words tell people that you’re part of their group.
Let’s play a lingo game.
Read the phrase. Then, see the picture of a personality. Now, say the phrase the way the personality would say it:
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“I did not realize that.”
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“D’oh!”
Easy, huh? Here’s another.
“Yes, I agree with you on that issue.”
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“You betcha!”
You’re doing great. Now, if you live in Singapore, the next one is easy too.
“Stop fooling around. Be serious.”
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“Don’t pray pray!”
With the right lingo, you can have a conversation with your audience. And most networks get that. But, what kind of conversation are you having?
Discovery talks about the barstool test. How would you describe their programs over a drink?
Imagine yakking over a beer with Mike Rowe and his friend in this next spot.
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What makes this feel so conversational? Notice how Mike’s sentences are rarely complete.
Now, if you’re CNN, you’re talking to people who chew up info and spit it out. So you’ve got to be crisp and lean. CNN says they take the scissors to every spot and cut cut cut.
CNN also says they “bow down to the power of verbs.” So check out how short these sentences are, and what a big role verbs play in the conversation.
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It’s worth looking at their script for a minute.
See the verbs in red? Get. Demand. Do. Equals. And just look at the sentence lengths: 8 words . . .then 3,3,2,3,3.
Dirty Jobs is a chat, CNN is a briefing. But over at Nike they’re having a different conversation with women athletes.
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Perfect squares. Lactic Acid. It’s the language of sports, but the conversation is about passion.
Another love story: dads and sons.
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These are down-to-earth guys. Their words? Single syllables. Short and plain. Mess up. Old man. Hard ass.
When you’re talking to your group, you can have fun with language too, like MTV for India:
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Fresh lingo makes your words and sentences memorable. When the language hits, you know it. Think back on some of the spots we’ve seen:
- Which network loves arachnids?
- Who gets away with shit?
- And which channel is music to your ears.
They’re not just funny words. They reflect who’s using them. A guy passionate about spiders. Characters on the raw end of life. And a channel passionate about one part of your body.
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Ready for the next L?