Don’t Bore the Jury – Part Two

Since their purposes are so much alike, I thought we would delve a little deeper into the comparisons between a white paper and a legal argument.

An attorney wants to win his case in court. A company wants to convince the white paper reader that the paper presents a strong, valid point, and that the reader should act on the recommendations in the paper.

Presenting the information in a compelling way is crucial to the white paper. It must:

• Define the problem
• Find and interview expert witnesses
• Study and dissect the assertions made by those with opposing points of view
• Lay out the facts in a persuasive presentation so as to
• Overcome disagreement or argument from the other side
• Give organized facts to help the reader (or jury) make an informed decision based on excellent writing

White paper readers need to see that the material presents a good understanding of the problem.

Interviewing witnesses will help to analyze the problem from a professional’s point of view. Quoting those witnesses, and citing their level of expertise can make the case even more compelling.

After reading the claims of the competitors, all the points they have covered can be addressed, but from a better perspective. This is a very important step to remember in the process of creating a white paper.

Not only do white papers need to state the facts, they need to explain why each point is important in the final decision-making process. Keep in mind that the main purpose of a white paper is to convince the reader to act on the information contained in that paper.

Another key issue is the wording of the paper. It has sometimes been customary for business documents,  such as white papers (or legal arguments, sometimes known as “pleadings”) to contain a lot of verbiage – much of it unnecessary.

Wait – what did I just say? Verbiage – the dictionary defines it as “overabundance or superfluity of words, as in writing or speech; wordiness; verbosity.”

So what does that mean? In simple terms, use simple terms. Write the paper in language that is easy to understand.  No one wants to read a paper that is full of words that send them looking for a dictionary.

Present the information in such a way that it can be read and digested in one sitting. If the reader has to first figure out what the paper is saying before deciding whether to act on the material it contains, chances are good that it will end up File Thirteen - and you’ve lost the jury.