Hello Switzerland Magazine

Approaching a difficult topic with clarity, care and credibility

The challenge

Although the mechanics of writing (researching, drafting, revising and editing) tend to be consistent for any writing; the approach, tone and structure may vary significantly depending on the subject matter, the purpose of the piece, and the audience.

Where creative writing might benefit from a more subjective and personal voice with an upbeat or questioning tone, scientific or technical writing requires a shift to more neutral and direct language, avoiding personal pronouns and focusing instead on conciseness, practicality and real-world scenarios.

So when we were asked to write a revised article on the importance of preventative health check-ups for a Swiss hospital group to be used in a magazine for English-speaking professionals and families living and working in Switzerland, we knew we had to get every aspect of the prose exactly right.

Hi Steve,

Here is the article we would like you to work on for the magazine, and some background material. What we want from this new article is to clearly point out why you should contact the client’s call center and ask for their recommendation. Ideally, we’d like to structure the article in short paragraphs, easy to read, with strong and catchy headlines. We do not want an empty PR article, but one that is relevant and interesting for our audience, with useful and valuable info. We want to focus on our audience’s problems first and secondarily on how they can be solved by the client. Let me know if this briefing is enough to go on, and when this could be ready.

Thanks, Irina

Our approach

Our goal was to produce accurate, explanatory content written for a beginner’s perspective to simplify complex and emotive topics, in a reassuring and professional tone.

As always, we started by creating an intended structure pathway. Beginning with scene-setting, the text then addressed the long-term benefits of having a preventative check-up (shifting the mindset from treating illness to maintaining wellness), finally leading the reader towards the desired calls to action.

We analysed the supplied content, to get a feel for the language used, at the same time avoiding jargon. Though the audience would be English-speaking, not all of them would be British, so we had to use ‘international’ English, avoiding any colloquial or figurative speech that might cause confusion.

The results

Hi Steve,

I’ve had a chance to read this now, and it’s exactly what we want, and the client has requested very few changes. I do appreciate your efforts, especially on such a tough topic.

Thank you again, Irina