Words Into Works #099 | The Six Principles of Effective Writing

In Writing for Busy Readers, Jessica Lasky-Fink and Todd Rogers share six universal principles of effective writing.

Adaptable to any context, the authors tailor these guidelines to diverse writers and readers, acknowledging varied voices, experiences, and biases.

Let’s detail each principle and explore how to communicate effectively in today’s fast-paced world.

1. Less Is More

The first principle revolves around the power and necessity of brevity in writing. The authors emphasize that while many writers believe more content equals better writing, the opposite is often true.

They point out that the average American adult reads nonfiction at about 240 words per minute, meaning longer texts consume more time and attention, leading to a higher likelihood of readers disengaging.

The authors argue for concise writing (which they admit requires more effort and skill than long-winded prose) and cite various studies demonstrating that shorter, clearer messages effectively engage readers.

For instance, a study showed emails with fewer words had significantly higher response rates. This principle extends to the number of ideas and requests in a message; fewer of each increases reader engagement and comprehension.

The chapter concludes with practical rules for concise writing: use fewer words, include fewer ideas, and make fewer requests. By adhering to these rules, writers can enhance the impact of their writing, ensuring busy readers receive and understand the most critical information.

2. Make Reading Easy

The second principle focuses on overcoming two major barriers to effective writing: length and complexity. Using an example from Seinfeld, the authors illustrate how overly lengthy and complex documents, like rental agreements, are often ignored or misunderstood by the general public.

The authors stress that shorter, more common words and simpler sentence structures are inherently easier to read and discuss how complex writing, especially in fields like law, can alienate and confuse readers.

For example, up to 60% of patients signing informed consent forms in healthcare research do not understand the content. An issue like this raises ethical concerns and highlights the need for simplification in writing.

To create readable writing, use short and common words, straightforward sentences, and shorter sentences. Remember, readable writing is about making ideas accessible, and balancing the trade-offs between readability and precision or complexity, depending on the context.

3. Design for Easy Navigation

This principle emphasizes the design aspect of writing, particularly how to structure written content for easy navigation.

Lasky-Fink and Rogers liken the reader’s approach to a message to how one would use a map, starting from a general view and zooming in on specific areas of interest.

This concept underscores the importance of designing written content to allow readers to quickly grasp the main points and structure and easily find the parts they wish to focus on.

The chapter outlines six specific rules for well-designed writing:

Make Key Information Immediately Visible: Make the primary purpose and important message details clear to the reader.
Separate Distinct Ideas: Separate distinct topics visually through paragraph breaks or bullet points to aid in readability and comprehension.
Place Related Ideas Together: Group related ideas to simplify the message and help readers understand the relationships between different parts of the content.
Order Ideas by Priority: Place the most important information first, as readers often give more attention to the start of a message.
Include Headings: Headings act like signposts, guiding the reader through the text and highlighting key sections.
Consider Using Visuals: Use visuals, such as graphs, infographics, or simple images, to convey information more efficiently than text alone.

The chapter concludes with examples of how these principles can be applied, including a case study of redesigning court summons notifications in New York City. Applying these rules made the redesigned summons more navigable and understandable, reducing the number of people who failed to appear in court due to confusion over the summons content.

4. Use Enough Formatting But No More

The focus here is on the effective use of formatting in writing. The authors compare formatting to spices in cooking: necessary but best used in moderation.

Lasky-Fink and Rogers emphasize that we must consider formatting tools like underlining, bolding, italics, all caps, and bullet point functional ingredients in writing.

The chapter outlines the rules for effective formatting:

Match Formatting to Readers’ Expectations: Align formatting with what readers typically understand from different styles (bold, italics, color changes, etc.). Understand and manage the potential ambiguity in readers’ interpretations of formatting.
Highlight, Bold, or Underline the Most Important Ideas: These tools effectively draw attention to critical text. However, their overuse can dilute their impact and lead readers to overlook non-formatted text.
Limit Your Formatting: Over-formatting can create visual chaos and confusion, making it difficult for readers to determine what is most important.

The chapter also discusses the historical evolution of formatting in writing, highlighting how innovations like spaces between words and the use of paragraphs have evolved to enhance readability.

5. Tell Readers Why They Should Care

In this chapter, the authors delve into the challenge writers face in understanding their readers’ perspectives and tailoring messages to be personally relevant and engaging. The chapter offers two main rules for creating personally relevant writing:

Emphasize What Readers Value (“So what?”): The authors emphasize the importance of making content personally relevant to readers. They note that readers are more likely to engage with and remember content they find personally significant or beneficial. The chapter discusses experiments and case studies, such as Rock the Vote’s email campaign, to illustrate how framing messages in a way that appeals to the reader’s self-interest can significantly increase engagement.
Emphasize Which Readers Should Care (“Why me?”): This rule emphasizes targeting specificity in messaging. The authors suggest tailoring messages to indicate who they are relevant to. By being explicit about the intended audience, writers can make their messages more effective and prevent wasting readers’ time. The chapter also provides practical examples, like product recall notices, to show how targeting the right audience with a clear and relevant message can enhance communication effectiveness.

Understanding and addressing the reader’s perspective is crucial in writing. Writers must anticipate and answer the reader’s potential questions of “So what?” and “Why me?” to ensure their messages are received and understood as intended.

6. Make Responding Easy

The sixth principle emphasizes that it’s not enough for readers to understand the message; they must also be motivated and find it easy to take the desired action. The final chapter presents three critical rules for easy-response writing:

Simplify the Steps Required to Act: The authors suggest making the action as effortless as possible for the reader. We can achieve this by setting up a default action that occurs without any active effort from the reader or by reducing the number of steps required to take action. Examples include automatic enrollment in programs and text message responses for sign-ups, which have significantly increased participation rates.
Organize Key Information Needed for Action: This rule focuses on providing all necessary details in a clear and accessible manner within the message. The authors stress that scattering essential information across multiple sources can deter readers from acting. They suggest including all vital information directly in the message, using principles of clarity and design.
Minimize the Amount of Attention Required: The authors argue that minimizing the cognitive load on the reader increases the likelihood of action. We can achieve this by limiting choices, constraining response options, and clearly outlining response processes. Providing too many options or requiring complex decision-making can overwhelm readers and discourage action.

Throughout the chapter, the authors use various studies and examples to illustrate these points, such as the effectiveness of opt-out options in increasing participation rates and the impact of clear and simplified messaging in contexts like retirement savings plans and tax credit claims.

Conclusion

In conclusion, Writing for Busy Readers offers practical, evidence-based strategies for effective communication. By emphasizing brevity, reader relevance, clear formatting, and action-oriented messaging, writers can capture and retain the attention of their busy audiences, ensuring their messages are read and acted upon.