Do People Need To Read Your Contents?

There are some contents people must read, like it or not. Textbooks, work-related stuff, information regarding livelihood essentials, or instruction/operational manuals of home appliances are examples. But, since people will read anyway, they can be dry, reader-unfriendly, uninteresting, and even poorly-made.

On the other hand, there are writing pieces you believe readers should read, but they think they can pass. Marketing pieces and other contents required to ‘cut through the clutter’ fit in that category. Those materials must grab people’s attention, impress them, inspire them and even amuse them for specified objectives. But despite elaborated efforts, creativity, ingenuity, passion, love, and whatever you’ve expended in the process, the targeted audience can walk away. That’s their destiny.

If the contents of the first type use poor writing or classroom translation, the readers can’t complain even if they want to do so because they must anyway read. But what if pieces in the second category are mediocre writings based on goody translation? The answer is too obvious: They’ll get a simple Sayonara even before ‘hi.’

People must use their attention wisely. For them, a day is just a blink of an eye, a week, a New York minute, and a month flies like a Shinkansen. So, splurging their time on unrequired reading that is boring and uncomfortable is the last thing they want to do. Instead, they want to reserve their attention for something they value. And of course, you, too.

As a creator, supplier, or whoever involved in distributing unrequired reading materials, you know that all. That’s why you try to make your pieces unique and sleek, creative and inventive, careful and successful. But are you doing the same for their Japanese version? Are you sure that you don't choose to believe that mere translation would inherit the excellent quality of the perfectly done original pieces? Can you say that you’ve never turned your head simply because the language is incomprehensible to you and entrusted everything to your Japanese colleagues? And can you vouch that those Japanese are experts of Japanese communication writing and not the goody translation police?

If any of the questions above get ‘no’ for the answer, then the first thing to do is cast a little doubt on the Japanese version of your message.

Your pieces intended to make a difference tend to get people's indifference.