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Readability

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<strong>Come out of the closet</strong> When cutting clutter from copy or closets, change your focus from what repeats deck; please change goes out to what stays in. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/white-shirts-hanging-on-rack-built-155388371" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image from TaraPatta</em></a>

What closet tidying taught me about editing

Audition your words to go in, not out When Lynn Wylie, aka Best Sister Ever, sent me an Unfancy blog...
Message length / Readability
<strong>That’s ROI</strong> Get your message read and shared by boosting your readability level.

What’s the value of readability [research!]?

Save money, make money and more with readable messages What are the benefits of making your message measurably easier to...
Readability
<strong>Avoid statistics soup</strong> Use only the numbers that are necessary for the reader’s understanding.

Don’t do a data dump when writing statistics

Don’t make your readers’ eyes glaze over “Great clots of numbers dropped into a story with a steam shovel create...
Readability / Statistics
<strong>Visual aids</strong> The way you present, or frame, statistics changes the way people — even experts — perceive them.[/caption]

What’s the effect of statistics in persuasive writing?

Reframe the data to improve decision-making People in one study rated a disease that kills 1,286 people out of every...
Metaphor / Readability / Statistics
<strong>News for you</strong> The BBC makes the most serious news easy to understand with highly readable copy. Does your organization do the same?

Benchmark readability against the BBC

How does your news measure up? The BBC covers the most serious news known to man — West Bank stabbings,...
Readability / Readability scores
<strong>How long is too long?</strong> Make sure your reading materials are readable with these free online readability apps.

Measure readability with these 6 readability apps

Test your clarity with these free online tools There are a million readability tools out there. Here are 6 of...
Readability / Readability scores
<strong>The right readability tool for the job</strong> Input a chunk of copy, click “Check Readability,” and STORYtoolz will run 7 readability tests on your message. <a href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/measuring-tape-9252256" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><em>Image by Teresa Azevedo</em></a>

Measure readability with STORYToolz readability analyzer

Get 33 metrics about your clarity There are a million readability tools out there. Among my favorites: STORYToolz readability analyzer....
Readability / Readability scores
Just do it Take these tips for making your message active from the Little Red Schoolhouse. Image by Halfpoint

Write about people doing things

To cut your syllable count, make subjects characters “It is good to write clearly,” wrote Joseph M. Williams, “and anyone...
Readability / Sentence length
<strong>Which of these statistics surprised you most? How do you plan to overcome this obstacle when writing for your audience?</strong>

Literacy rate in America by the numbers [Slideshare]

Half of U.S. adults read at basic level or below Let’s start with the bad news: More than half of...
Readability
<strong>Eye on the bottom line</strong> How much does bad writing cost your organization? <em><a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/armydre2008/3945539641/" title="Image" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Image</a> by <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/armydre2008/" title="frankieleon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">frankieleon</a></em>

The cost of bad writing

It’s a $37 million-a-year problem at one organization Bad writing causes 40% of the cost of managing business transactions, writes...
Persuasive writing / Readability
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