AMBITIOUS and the ellipsis . . .

Last updated on February 20th, 2024 at 11:14 am

Helping businesses to tell their stories more effectively is what we do at AMBITIOUS. As any good storyteller will divulge: leaving some things to the imagination of the reader results in audiences hankering after more. But how?

For us, the ellipsis is very much part of how we approach story telling for our clients. We are always looking out for the key components of a good story and dig deep to source the best plot, characters, themes, style, tone and structure. Build the anticipation and create interest.

But, the ellipsis also plays a major role in our own brand identity and more recently the rebrand of AMBITIOUS (thanks to Design & Co for their support and help).

But what is an ellipsis I hear you say? It all sounds Greek to me! It’s most likely something you use every day without knowing its real name and purpose…

From the Ancient Greek ἔλλειψις, élleipsis meaning omission, an ellipsis is a punctuation mark used to create a pause for effect, show words that have been left out, indicate an unfinished thought, create a leading statement or even build tension and anticipation for the recipient (in most cases the reader). In our book, the perfect punctuation mark for story telling.

Collectively known as ellipses, the ellipsis is shown as a sequence of three dots set as one single character. Like this (…). If we’re going to get into the specifics, it’s worth noting that the collective of three dots make up the ellipsis and the dots themselves are called ellipsis points or ellipsis marks.

Used for news writing, informal and formal writing, text messages and emails, the ellipsis is one of those very useful – if sometimes a tad overused – punctuation marks. We like it … we like it a lot.

So, maybe when you next put pen to paper or finger to button give it some thought … and then some more thought. Does the ellipsis have a part to play in your communication? In some form, it most probably does…