By Anam Kibria

How to make anyone fall in love with what you do

This Monday, we had a copywriting masterclass by Caitlin Breeze, and in the words of Marc, it definitely was an absolute treat. She came in and strolled casually to the top of my favourite speakers list. Her talk focused on how to get your inspiration from a personal space and she focused on things that she learnt from great writers in the past such as Julius Caesar, Lord Byron and Virginia Woolf. Here is what I took away from her masterclass:

Our language has two roots

English vocabulary can be divided into two groups based on origin: Germanic and Latinate words. Germanic words came from the Saxons and Latinate came from the Normans. Why does this matter? The group that you decide to use dictates the tone of your writing. Germanic words are short, ordinary words whereas Latinate words are longer and more refined. Using the right register will make your work more powerful.

A love letter is so much more than just a love letter

Declarations of eternal, undying love make me just feel incredibly awkward but Caitlin made me realise that there is so much more beyond the flowery language. If anything, love letters are probably one of the greatest forms of advertising. You entice the reader with a promise of a beautiful future and then you persuade them to engage with calls to action. All of this, disguised in beautiful, romantic diction. Incredible.

But most of all, I learnt that

Love what you do and success will follow

There is a clear difference between enthusiasm and unadulterated passion. The way Caitlin spoke about copywriting and literature, her eyes lit up and it was incredibly infectious. She had the copywriters swooning and even the art directors in the room couldn’t help but gravitate towards her.

It really doesn’t matter what you’re talking about, when you speak with such love for your field and your work, people can’t help but take notice. It makes people want to have a piece of what you have, makes them desperate for a taste. There is no better way to sell something than passion. And when you do something with as much love and dedication as Caitlin has for her copywriting, success and recognition will surely follow.

Coming into 2017 I wasn’t sure whether I wanted to pursue art direction or copywriting but Caitlin rekindled my love for the English language and literature. I am definitely going to write with more focus and purpose and read more. I aspire to be as unabashedly passionate and romantic about my work and this industry as her. I do hope she comes back again to talk about epigrams!