“Script” is a Dangerous, Fuzzy Little Word

Fuzzy little words get projects in trouble.

I once saw a major exhibition in a year-long tailspin because people assumed different definitions for “script” in a contract.

Saying “you are responsible for the script” is like saying “you are responsible for the building”. Yeah? Which part? Designing it? Building it? Maintaining it?

Let’s never use that fuzzy little word again. Instead, let’s use more precise words for each smaller step in the process:

Content Summary
Short description of the main content points and goals.

Visitor Experience Description
Description of what the visitor will experience.

Outline
Skeleton of what final text will be. Includes notes to inform writing.

Final Text
The actual text visitors will see. (Digital media has text too.)

Galleys
Text in final visual form for last-chance proofreading.

Now you can assign roles for each step.

Here’s the thing:
“Script” is a fuzzy, dangerous little word. Don’t use it. Use more precise words for the smaller steps instead.

Warmly,
Jonathan

P.S. Use different words? Hit REPLY, and we’ll update the next version.