Short sentences are easier to understand than long sentences
Add a word to your sentence, and you’ll reduce comprehension. Add another once, reduce it even further.… Read the full article
Concise Writing
How to vary your sentences
Build drama, create rhythm and more
Short sentences are best. But make every sentence simple and short, and your copy will read like “See Dick run” primers.… Read the full article
Why use short sentences in writing?
Because long ones reduce comprehension
Here’s the problem with long sentences: Every time you add a word, you reduce comprehension. Add another one, reduce it even further.… Read the full article
Optimal length for a blog post, Facebook post, email newsletter …
Measure A.R.T., or average reading time
Writers measure copy in words, inches or pages. Readers use a different measure: time.
So instead of using writer-centric measures, think like your reader.… Read the full article
Information multitasking & continuous partial attention disorder
Americans consume 15.5 hours of media a day — outside work
When was the last time you found yourself text messaging while checking email, watching TV and talking on the phone?… Read the full article
How to overcome information overload in communication
Hint: Cutting copy is not the solution
It’s the communicator’s biggest problem: How do you get audience members to pay attention to, understand and remember your messages when they’re burdened with so much information?… Read the full article
What is information overload in communication?
Readers face the equivalent of 174 newspapers a day
Talk about TMI: Your readers receive the data equivalent of 174 newspapers a day[1] — ads included.… Read the full article
How to avoid noun phrases
They suck the energy out of your copy
There’s nothing like noun phrases to make a tight sentence long, to transform clear, conversational language into stuffy bureaucratese:
“It is the intention of this team to facilitate the improvement of our company’s processes.”
… Read the full articleWrite like Churchill — in one-syllable words
‘Short words are best, and old words when short are the best of all’
What do you notice about this passage, excerpted from an article in The Economist?… Read the full article
Don’t commit verbicide: Choose verbs, not nouns
Action words streamline syllables
This just in, writes one of my favorite correspondents, sharing a sentence his subject matter expert has written:
Somebody just kill me now, my friend writes.… Read the full article