Three chords and the truth: what country music can teach us about better writing in business

This article describes how business writers can learn to better their craft by looking at the lessons provided by country music.

Three chords and the truth: what country music can teach us about better writing in business

Simon Prichard

Bob Harris made me do it. One gentle summer evening on his Radio 2 country music show, he was enthusing about a particular song and how it told a perfect, bittersweet story. I started to wonder what business writing could learn from Johnny Cash and the rest. I started with Harlan Howard's famous phrase: "All you need to write a country song is three chords and the truth."

1. Keep it simple

Harlan was right that a typical country song has three...

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