Don’t forget the nut
This article has nothing to do with walnuts. (photo by Harry)
While the most vital element of any news article is “what happened,” a close second is "why you should care.” This concept from journalism is one that everyone should employ in their professional communications.
Every news story contains a lead, which tells your audience what happened: a car crashed, a person went to jail, a law was passed, etc. But then, usually one or two paragraphs later, comes what is called the nut graf (I think it’s short for nutshell paragraph), which gives background and puts the story in context. In short, the nut graf tells people why this matters.
And that’s no small thing. Too often people think the “why you should care” part is so obvious that they don’t have to spell it out. And that’s almost always a mistake. The people who are receiving your communication have a lot of things going on. They’re processing thousands of bits of information. Don’t make them work so hard.
Let me show you what I mean. In an article in today's Los Angeles Times, the first line of an article reads: “The Los Angeles City Council has dedicated an additional $200,000 toward the copper wire task force, tripling the funds focused on curtailing the theft of metal from public infrastructure.” That’s clearly the lead.
The nut comes in the next paragraph, when the article quotes an official saying that the action is the “most aggressive and proactive effort” to crack down on the thefts that have left predominantly working-class communities without adequate street lighting or internet service — and cost the city at least $17 million in repairs.
See? Now I know why the council is making this effort, and how it will benefit people.
This is a critical element that all too many people leave out of their communications, from content marketing to press releases to emails. For instance, in an email to a colleague, the lead might be: “Please sign this contract by Tuesday.” The nut then might be: “You may recall our conversation about how important it is to get this consultant engaged quickly, because the timing is critical to the success of our ABZ initiative.”
Don’t ever assume that people automatically know why something is important or why they should care (I have a pet peeve with emails that just say “FYI” with a link). Context is critical to any good communication.