On Bluf, and writing copy

Throughout our life, we're taught to structure arguments like a school essay: you set up your case, discuss the arguments, and conclude with the findings - the so called 'bottom line'. It makes for a very solid structure if your reader is volunteering to read your writing - like for example, in an article like this one.

Using writing structures we're taught in school, the reader eases into the text, and gets to spend some time coming to agreement with your positioning. It gives your writing a softer flow, and a more accessible understanding of the way you reach your conclusion. That cadence helps a lot in an educational context, where the "how" of your conclusion is as relevant as the "what", and the "why" is intrinsic to the writing: it's an educational exercise.

When it comes to writing pitches, business documents, alignment documents, press releases, or any form of inter-disciplinary writing - the common conclusion-at-the bottom is a terrible style. We're currently on the third paragraph of the article, and while it's not unpleasant to read (I hope!) it really makes a difference whether you know what this articles wants to teach you.

In copywriting, you want to start with the most important thing, and work your way down from there. This is sometimes referred to "the inverted pyramid" in journalistic writing or as "thesis line" in academic writing - but the US military coined the abbreviation "BLUF", which I think is much more simple, and simplicity can make it easier to apply in your day-to-day.

BLUF stands for "Bottom Line Up Front" - the idea that the conclusion is the first thing your audience reads, that you both pose and answer the question in the first sentence.

We can do better

Let's take the same text as above, but invert the paragraph order - and compare the texts. It might feel natural to scroll back up & down in comparison - especially on smaller screens, but they're literally the same texts. All I'm doing is changing the "school" style of writing to the "BLUF" style of writing.

BLUF stands for "Bottom Line Up Front" - the idea that the conclusion is the first thing your audience reads, that you both pose and answer the question in the first sentence.

In copywriting, you want to start with the most important thing, and work your way down from there. This is sometimes referred to "the inverted pyramid" in journalistic writing or as "thesis line" in academic writing - but the US military coined the abbreviation "BLUF", which I think is much more simple, and simplicity can make it easier to apply in your day-to-day.

When it comes to writing pitches, business documents, alignment documents, press releases, or any form of inter-disciplinary writing - the common conclusion-at-the bottom is a terrible style. We're currently on the third paragraph of the article, and while it's not unpleasant to read (I hope!) it really makes a difference whether you know what this articles wants to teach you.

Using writing structures we're taught in school, the reader eases into the text, and gets to spend some time coming to agreement with your positioning. It gives your writing a softer flow, and a more accessible understanding of the way you reach your conclusion. That cadence helps a lot in an educational context, where the "how" of your conclusion is as relevant as the "what", and the "why" is intrinsic to the writing: it's an educational exercise.

Throughout our life, we're taught to structure arguments like a school essay: you set up your case, discuss the arguments, and conclude with the findings - the so called 'bottom line'. It makes for a very solid structure if your reader is volunteering to read your writing - like for example, in an article like this one.

A good bluf

For this blog, I tend to use the softer "conclusion-near-the-end" style - but that is because you are volunteering to read this, and the value proposition is already known to you: you spend time reading what I write, and we agree that writing will be helpful to you in your games industry career. There's also no decision to make for you, besides deciding whether you want to continue reading.

Working in games is a communication minefield: multidisciplinary communications, both internal and external, with the purpose of alignment or selling ideas. If you're writing to a publisher or the press, they need to know whether this is useful to them immediately. If you're writing a store page or a video script, people click away in seconds. If you're writing to your development team, your team has more important things to do than reading (or they think they do, right, producers?).

A "Bottom Line Up Front" is very much about brevity, conciseness, and moving decision-making and conclusions to the top - so people can figure out whether it's relevant to them to invest the time to read - and they can get to making decisions faster.

So how do you write a good BLUF?

• Write normally - then remove the first paragraph, and move the last paragraph to the top.
  • The way we get taught to write in schools generally makes the first paragraph superfluous and the final paragraph the most important one. For anything you write "normally", try removing the first paragraph, and moving the last one (or the most important one) to the top. Then rewrite the remaining text if needed.
• Cut hedging words, filler words, weasel words, and buzz words.
  • "This e-mail is to open a discussion - I think we would do well to consider our options before making a call on the various clothing styles and suggestions that recently arrived from the art department." is much harder to read "We should review the clothing suggestions from the art department".
  • Note: research suggests removing hedging words is tougher for people from marginalized backgrounds, as they tend to avoid trying to take up space or claiming authority If they make you feel less anxious, obviously consider leaving a few - but if you can safely do so, try reducing them over time.
• Whatever you're doing, think of what the point of the communication is, and get to those as soon as possible. Try to focus on the five "W"'s, "Who", "What", "Where", "When", and "Why".
  • For example: "We [Who] are unconvinced that the recently suggested [When/Where] reduction in content scope [What] would meaningfully reduce the budget, as content is a minor part of our expenses [Why]."
• If you're asking a question, implied or not, ask the question first.
  • "Rami, we've ran into some issues with a potential funding agreement. The publisher has been changing the termination clauses you warned about in the contract, and recently they also started changing some definitions in the Statement of Work. Would you have some time over the next few days to take a look at what is happening, or would you have a recommendation for someone who could?" could also be "Rami, do you have some time to look at some worrisome contract changes, or do you know a lawyer for that?"
• If you're answering a question, repeat the question in the answer:
  • You can become too brief too - context matters, so if you're responding to a question, include the question: "We think turn-based is probably best." does not give them same context as "In playtests we found that a turn-based paradigm fits the prototype best, which answers questions raised about the prototype's gameplay last week."

As always, BLUF is a tool - not a rule. BLUF can absolutely seem overly unattached or unemotional if applied without filter, and it is best used for sales (pitching & press) and decision-making (business partners & colleagues).

The trick of BLUF is to be aware of your writing, and to be intentional about what style of writing you pick. I wanted to let you know that there are alternatives out there to the traditional "context-to-conclusion" style most of us get taught in school. With the additional tools, you can figure out for yourself which ones fit where.

Actionables

• Writing is one of the more treacherous parts of game development - not the narrative writing, but copywriting and communications writing. Take a moment to assess your own writing style: open up a few e-mails that you have sent to publishers, colleagues, or folks working at studio partners - evaluate the e-mail on how long it takes before it becomes clear what you need.
• For any e-mail relating to sales, pitching, or decision-making, try using the concepts of BLUF. Rewrite the e-mail in a text editor, and see if you can make the e-mail feel natural.
• Try to be more aware and intentional about your writing style. If you're not aware with the terms "hedging words", "filler words", "weasel words", and "buzz words" - take a moment to learn about them. For English texts, consider using the tools at textcompare.org to scan your texts if leaving these out isn't natural to you - copy your text into the input field, then go to the "Frequency" tab to see how often you're using certain words. The goal is not to minimize these words, but to see how often you're using them to support your thesis or question - and how often you're using them as padding or softening.