Internal Memo: A Proposal to Write Right

Prashant Gopalakrishnan, EVP & National Business Head, writes to his team on the value of writing in public

This email was sent to the account management team at Dentsu Webchutney to motivate closet writers, non-writers, or poets-but-they-don’t-know-it to share their thoughts in public—and to write without judgment.

Hi Team,

You would have often received an email from me where the signature reads, “Sent on the go, please ignore the typo”. A confession: it’s not always sent on the go. I am aware that grammar, sentence constructions, punctuations don’t come naturally to me. And so this is my way of covering it up.

Clearly, I do not consider myself as someone who has the skill to write long form content. I am surely not disillusioned, but do I have ideas on what these pieces can be? Oh yes, I do. We all do. Don’t we?

Coming to the point, I know that each and every one of us has ideas that can be transformed into a beautifully written piece. It need not be an article. It can be a poem, it can be a sketch, it can be whatever you want it to be. So who better to write it than you. If you’re like I was a few months ago, you should know how writing publicly brings in a different sense of confidence.

I have constantly lived with the fear of being judged. Writing Hindi copy was my coping mechanism to show that “I Can Write”. I remember Ishtaarth telling me, “Irrespective of how it is, just write and send it to me”. The feedback was constructive and it gave me a lot of confidence. To continue and finish it. As you are aware I now try to write at least once a month so that it helps me improve this skill set. I am now learning what it means when he says “clear thinking is clear writing.”

So, to think better and to write better, I have an offer for you. I am willing to work very closely with each and every one of you in making this happen for you. (I have a selfish interest in this too.) I want more essays and thinking from account management out there on the Dentsu Webchutney blog. It will be fantastic for each of you, and for us as a group to do this. Ishtaarth and Ananya will partner with me in this. Our ambition is to get each and every one of you to feel comfortable in sharing your thoughts. Whether it’s the blog, it’s our corporate pages on social media, good ideas, and good thoughts are always welcome.

So please get over the inhibition. Write to me. And I will partner with you in every way possible. Imagine the power of our briefs once we know how to get the right words in there. There is no downside to this. All the team leads (marked on CC) have volunteered to be a part of this journey.

Best regards,
PGK
Sent on the go, please ignore the typo.