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The writing that we all learn in school might get us a decent grade, but it likely won’t hold the attention of busy readers online. Effective writing today goes well beyond what many of us learned in school.
“We were taught how to write well, and that is different than writing effectively,” said Todd Rogers, author of “Writing for Busy Readers,” on Episode 689 of “The Business Storytelling Podcast.”
It’s not about impressing your old English teacher anymore. It’s about getting your message across to people who are constantly bombarded with information.
Traditional writing education often focuses on crafting beautiful sentences and complex grammatical structures. While these skills have their place, they don’t usually translate to effective communication in the business world. The new approach that Todd and his co-author Jessica Lasky-Fink advocate for prioritizes comprehension and action over literary flair.
Key principles of effective writing
Effective writing is all about making it easy for readers to get what they need from your text. The research has identified several key principles:
Less is more
This principle applies to both content and requests. In multiple studies across various audiences, they found that shorter messages were consistently more effective than longer ones. It’s not about dumbing things down. It’s about respecting readers’ time and attention.
When it comes to requests, Todd notes, “When you ask people to do two or three things, you are less likely to get them to do any one of them than if you just ask them to do one.”
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Make reading easy
This involves using headings, formatting, and designing for skimmers. Todd shared a study about using headings in a newsletter sent to journalists. By simply adding topic headings, they doubled the likelihood that journalists would use the material. It’s a small change with a big impact.
Getting into the reader’s head
Understanding the audience’s behavior and writing with their perspective in mind is crucial.
“Imagine if it was always our fault as writers, if the reader didn’t read it,” Todd suggests.
No more: Well they didn’t read it correctly. This shift in perspective can dramatically change how we approach writing.
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The science behind effective writing
Todd’s approach isn’t based on hunches or personal preferences. It’s grounded in rigorous scientific research.
These experiments cover various aspects of writing. For instance, a study tested the impact of spreading out a dense paragraph. When a 10-line paragraph is presented as either a block of text or with each sentence as its own bullet point. The result? When the text was spread out, people were more likely to read it and performed better on comprehension questions afterward.
This approach to writing can be applied across various forms of communication:
- Email communication
- Web content
- Memos and reports
Overcoming challenges
Adopting this approach to writing isn’t without its challenges:
There’s often a tension between providing comprehensive information and keeping things concise. It’s about finding the right balance for the specific audience and purpose.
Not everyone reads or processes information in the same way. Being flexible and willing to adjust your style based on the audience is key.
Implementing these changes across an entire organization can be challenging. Consider having explicit discussions about communication norms to create a more effective writing culture.
It’s not just about the words you choose. How you present those words matters too. Formatting choices like bold text or bullet points can significantly impact how readers engage with content.
However, these choices come with trade-offs.
“Readers will when you have bold underline or highlight, readers jump to that. And they also are licensed to not read anything else.”
It’s about understanding these trade-offs and using them intentionally to achieve your communication goals.
Final thoughts
The key takeaway here isn’t that we should all start writing in small chunks. It’s about being intentional and reader-focused in our writing. Whether you’re crafting an email, a blog post, or yes, even a book, thinking about how to make it easier for the busy reader can make a world of difference.
It’s about writing effectively. And that’s a skill we can all benefit from mastering.
“Everyone is skimming anyway, and so as writers, the burden shifts to us that we have to write in a way that makes it easy for skimmers to get the information we are trying to convey.”