Handmade Soba and the Art of Copywriting

When your business requires executive-level writing—be it for your website, a major public address by your CEO or your annual report—a communications generalist most likely has the skills needed to give you a deliverable product.

And although it may be “good enough”, it probably won’t be great.

Here’s why: your brand isn’t a product that fits handily inside a text box. Your brand is art. And that’s why you really should seek the specialised services of a professional writer to handle your business communications. Accepting anything (or anyone) less would compromise quality, potentially damaging the image and reputation you’ve worked so hard to create.

To demonstrate the difference specialists make, I invite you to witness the work of one of Asia’s master chefs: Tatsuru Rai is considered one of the greatest soba noodle makers in the world, and his recent performance at the MAD festival in Copenhagen was an exercise in dedication, craftsmanship and grace.  Note the precision as he rolls and cuts the buckwheat dough. Every movement has a purpose; not a single stroke is wasted… the result of a lifetime of devotion to his craft.

Tatsuru Rai is the owner and chef of Sobatei Rakuichi in Niseko, Hokkaido. He operates the 12-seat restaurant, considered one of the world’s great soba houses, with his wife Midori. He mixes, kneads, and cuts all of the buckwheat to order. He was the first person to appear on stage at the fourth annual MAD Symposium, in Copenhagen. Instead of giving a speech, Tatsuru demonstrated his craft in complete silence. Read more on the MADFeed: tmblr.co/Z462xt1QKYbWT

Great writing comes from the same relentless pursuit of perfection. Your business has likely spent years, and possibly decades, honing a brand that expresses your corporate identity with just a few crucial ingredients.  In the hands of a trained writer, those ingredients will maintain the unique flavour of your brand as you communicate with your audience.

Food and words are all too often treated as commodities, especially when you consider how intimately we relate to both in our lives. Generalists in both realms might produce palatable results—but you’d be hard pressed to find an end product that really excels. That’s why finding the right words to represent your brand within a presentation or written piece, regardless of the medium, is best left to dedicated writing professionals.

In writing copy – as with making noodles – you could hand the job over to a novice. But in both cases, you’ll probably end up with a pile of soggy mush. And who wants that?