Ignorance may really be bliss
What happens when readers are overloaded with information?
Ralph L. Lowenstein and John C. Merrill, authors of Macromedia: Mission, Message and Morality, write:
“(T)he more communications we receive, the less each is taken seriously. In a sense, we are experiencing a period of communication inflation in which messages become ‘cheaper’ (of less value) as they become more numerous.
“One research study has shown that the average American is exposed to 1,600 advertising messages each day but is moved pro or con by no more than 15 of them.
“Undoubtedly there is also an increase in total quality, but this seems obscured in the repetitions, jargonized gush of pap and prattle.
“Ignorance perhaps is really bliss, and a kind of ‘ostrich complex’ may prove the sanest stance for a human being to take today.”
Have your readers stuck their heads in the sand? How do you overcome “continuous partial attention“?
How long should your message be?
Readability helps everyone — those with high literacy rates as well as low, according to new research by the Nielsen Norman Group.
When you make your writing easier to read, your audience members will read it faster, understand it better and enjoy it more.Want to master a seven-step system for making every piece you write easier to read and understand. If so, bring Ann in to present Catch Your Readers — a persuasive-writing course — to your team.
They’ll learn how long their paragraphs, sentences and words should be. And they’ll leave with a free tool they can use to measure, monitor and manage readability.
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