What we can learn from ‘Sam I am’

“I am Sam. Sam I am”. These words have been stuck in my head ever since I heard them on a DVD being watched by the toddler son of a friend while I was travelling in Australia in 2003.

I was drawn to recall them again recently by a member of Bank of England staff who thinks the bank’s reports should “ape Dr Seuss”.

BoE researcher Jonathan Fullwood told the bank’s staff in a blog post that they should learn from Dr Seuss – the author of Green Eggs and Ham, from which that quote comes – when it comes to speech and report writing.

“Those writing in the financial industry tend to use long words. They put those long words in long sentences. And those long sentences in long paragraphs,” Fullwood wrote in a blog for BoE staff.

He claimed 80% of the British public would struggle with an average BoE publication, reported Reuters, concluding “The world of finance still has some work to make its writing truly accessible.”

Well Jonathan, I completely agree.

And not only that, they’d benefit from being summarised in a 2-minute video, complemented by visuals to reinforce the message.

That way, I might stand a chance of remembering the message 13 days later, or maybe even 13 years.