How much time will readers spend with your message?
Talk about TMI: Your readers receive the data equivalent of 174 newspapers — ads included — every single day, according to USC’s Annenberg School for Communication.… Read the full article
Readability
How to use air quotes
Don’t.
No punctuation transgression amuses me quite as much as the extraneous quotation mark. Because, “really,” when you inexplicably put “quotes” around a word or phrase, what is it that you’re “trying” to “say”?… Read the full article
Measure, manage & report readability
4 more ways to use reading ease
Paying attention to readability will help you reach readers, improve communication and boost the bottom line. It can also help you manage writers, win debates during the approval process and report measurable communication success.… Read the full article
What is clarity in writing
Stop these institutional mistakes for readability
Want to make sure you’re not eradicating clarity in your organization?
Slaughter these problems instead, suggest Martin J. Eppler, Ph.D.,… Read the full article
How to improve clarity in writing
5 steps to simplifying your message
How can you clarify your message?
The authors of “Complex to Clear: Managing Clarity in Corporate Communication” developed this CLEAR mnemonic for simplifying your subject:
1.
… Read the full articleUse the active voice in writing
Write about people doing things
Which of these headlines is most likely to spur you to sign up for a webinar?
New webinar helps managers improve productivity
Or:
Get all your work done in half the time, be the office hero and go home early
The first focuses on the webinar.… Read the full article
Why is readability important to your readers?
Readable messages help everyone
I recently attended a conference where the Nielsen Norman Group unveiled its latest eyetracking research. After more than 20 years in the lab, watching people read and respond to text, they reported this finding:
“This is too easy to read.”
… Read the full articleWhat’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 read and understand?
Readability formulas measure how easy your message is to read based on average number of words per sentence, percentage of polysyllabic words and familiarity of words on the Dale Chall list.… Read the full article
Benchmark readability against the BBC
How does your news measure up?
The BBC covers the most serious news known to man — West Bank stabbings, friendly fire air strikes, Justin Bieber’s bad behavior — and does so in an average of 4.7-character words.… Read the full article
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 my favorites:
1. Datayze Readability Analyzer
This tool not only analyzes readability, but also gives you different ways to dig into your message.… Read the full article