Mr. Slater is an established author and consultant who shared many insightful tips and approaches to writing to IC-KMUTNB’s 3rd year students. Starting off with, we all write no matter the job. Some more than others. You will never escape having to write so make the best out of writing. Writing reflects you and it’s your reputation and future at stake.  Even the police need to write a lot. Writing is an exercise in thinking. A lot of reading and researching is required as a writer. 

 

Some of the advice given were;

Firstly, why are you writing and what do you hope to achieve? This approach follows the who, what, where, when, why and how format. Or as David modified to Ground, Situation, Mission, Execution, Administration, and Command. 

Then secondly the considerations of writing. The level of details and support required to get your point across. 

Thirdly, when writing, identify the pain of the audience, priorities, the ideas and needs for a solution; and finally have clear objectives for the reader to follow. In another way, could you as a writer define a problem, deliver a pragmatic solution, communicate the idea and execute the solution. Showing your value. 

 

There were messaging activities at the start and end of the talk showing how a clearly written idea leads to less confusion. The Q&A was lively with many questions focused on Mr. Slater’s transition to a writer and how he viewed language across cultures. One point David highlighted was how similar idioms were across cultures, meaning it’s not that hard to share meaning if we understood our audience.