by jim brennan

Created on: July 18, 2009

The audience for an article about how to make writing about investment interesting is going to consist largely of those who are not in the investment or banking community. While those who operate in investment circles would find any narrative laden with obscure financial terms stimulating, the general population would likely zone out by the end of the opening paragraph. Financially-challenged individuals would be drawn to such an article out of curiosity or the desire to broaden their knowledge base for investment purposes.

Taking this into consideration, the challenge for the writer is to present an informative yet comfortable introduction to the subject, but not so elementary that it will insult the reader. It is equally important to make a connection to some mainstream topics that have a wider appeal such as sports or popular culture, and a little humor wouldn't hurt either.

Investing is simply taking a stake in the ownership of a company, so stick with companies that the average consumer can relate to. While most people have heard of Morgan-Stanley, they would be challenged to explain much about their business operations. Conversely if you ask the average person on the street about Wal-Mart you will likely get first hand experiences about everything from their pharmacy and photo centers to the hot dogs they sell in their deli.

It is also advisable to keep with simple concepts like sales, market share, debt (most consumers have first-hand experience) and trends. Once you cross the line into the complicated world of derivatives and credit default swaps you'll have them running for the doors. Bottom line: keep it familiar, keep it simple and keep it real!

So let's take these concepts for a test ride. You are sitting in your living room on a Friday night unwinding from a stressful week watching the ballgame and drinking a beer when the television begins to flicker and all of the sudden, "Puff" the picture goes out elevating your stress level even further. You immediately jump into action and get another cold one from the refrigerator while planning your next move, ultimately deciding to run out in the morning and look for a new television. Saturday morning rolls around sooner than you'd like and you can't watch Food Network so you hop into your car and drive to the local Circuit City only to find the parking lot empty and boards covering the windows. By now your head is about to explode as you drive to the nearest Best Buy where you find a full parking

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>