Last week I was attempting to train some EU officials in the art of writing impactful political reports.

My theory always was that if one's work from Post was to be actually read by someone somewhere ploughing dispiritedly through the mass of dull stuff on an official desk or in an official email Inbox, one had to do whatever it took to catch their eye: 

"Ah, to be back in the Balkans. The all-pervading aroma of grilled meat, plum brandy and smuggled cigarettes. Faded but unmistakeably naff curtains. Groups of sexy black leather-jacketed Balkanites of all genders huddled in corners, peering suspiciously at foreigners. All this before you leave the Embassy..."

Or this:

"NATO dare not end up looking like a high-tech tank stuck in the Balkan mud surrounded by dancing Stone Age warriors..."

Such self-indulgent penmanship does get read, usually to rather mixed reviews. But it is not enough to be Read. Nor is it enough to be Right. You have to be both those - and Convincing.

That's the supreme drafting skill. Can it be taught?