The Devil’s in the Detail

The Vatican found itself the subject of ridicule last week after misspelling Jesus; forcing it to withdraw commemorative medals that had been commissioned to celebrate Pope Francis’ first year. You have to wonder _how _did this happen? Surely, at some point in the process, someone should have questioned the fact they’d always thought Jesus started with a ‘J’ not an ‘L’?

Yet I must admit I felt a pang of sympathy. Working in tech PR, writing content is our staple diet; as such, we know the creative process involves numerous revisions and reviews, with many different people providing input, meaning you have to read the same proof again and again. However, an annoying trick of the human mind is that once it has read and re-read the same sentence a number of times it is often blinded to any mistakes - even glaringly obvious ones.

This is why checks and balances should always be in place to make sure mistakes do not slip through the cracks. Attention to detail may not come naturally to you, in fact for many creative types it doesn’t; but discipline, planning, and time can remedy that. Always ensure that you re-read, proof backwards to check every word, get someone who is removed from the project to look at it with fresh eyes, sleep on it and read again in the morning; the key is to find ways to put yourself in the readers shoes. This is why it is so essential to build time into any piece to perform the necessary reviews.

Attention to detail goes further than simply ensuring that words are spelt correctly and that commas are placed in the right spots; it is at the heart of everything you write. Is the tone correct for the audience? Are you being consistent in style? Is the information you are presenting accurate? Do you have proof points to justify your arguments? Are you using reliable sources? And most importantly of all, has the piece achieved what you intended it to achieve?

By interrogating your work, looking at it in a different way, and getting a second opinion, hopefully you can avoid having your own ‘Lesus Christ!’ moment.