The joy of specifics

It’s always a great feeling of revelation (not to mention vindication) when something you have long suspected or known to be true suddenly pops up and proves itself out in the real world. I found this recently regarding the power of being precise.

Now, naturally I have always known that smoking is not a wise habit in terms of one’s health – hence, I eventually managed to quit. Its effects are difficult to ignore: after all, they are printed on the packet. Difficult, but – in some cases – not impossible.

For example: ‘smoking causes aging of the skin’. Hmm. A rather cursory, vague warning this – it has the feeling of a meagre afterthought, and one that is quite easy to dismiss.

But compare this, which I saw in a skincare clinic: ‘Two cigarettes a day can destroy the entire RDA of vitamin C in your body’.

Crikey. The details in that are impossible to ignore. It manages to be succinct, specific and surprising in a very real, very vivid way. I’d definitely be stubbing out now if I hadn’t already.

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Author: Catie Holdridge

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Catie joined Emphasis with an English literature and creative writing degree and a keen interest in what makes language work. Having researched, written, commissioned and edited dozens of articles for the Emphasis blog, she now knows more about the intricacies of effective professional writing than she ever thought possible.

She produced and co-wrote our online training programme, The Complete Business Writer, and these days oversees all the Emphasis marketing efforts. And she keeps office repartee at a suitably literary level.