What’s the character count of your average word?
Why short words? | |
 | What is the word length effect? Long words are stuffy and hard to read Small wonder! Long words get shared less often, suck the color from your piece — even make you sound like a liar. Why not choose short words? |
 | ‘Fluent’ words more trustworthy, believable Choose short, simple, easy-to-pronounce terms ‘Fluent’ words: those that are short, simple, and easy to pronounce — are seen as less dangerous. |
How short should words be? | |
 | Write like the Times: Keep words short The newspaper of record covers rocket science & brain surgery in simple terms The New York Times covers big stories in 4.9-character words. Don’t overwhelm readers with long words. |
 | Write like Churchill — in one-syllable words ‘Short words are best, and old words when short are the best of all’ Want to improve reading ease? Take a tip from Winston Churchill: Use mostly one-syllable words. |
 | Single-syllable words can shock, jolt and pop One is enough! You don’t need long words to make impact. Short one-syllable words can move people – in print and online. |
How to reduce word length | |
 | Get the gobbledygook and gibberish out Huh? Jargon. Buzzwords. Acronyms. They’re things that make your readers go, “huh?” And we need to get them out of our copy. |
 | How to avoid adjectives, adverbs Replace weak modifiers with strong nouns and verbs The ‘great deceivers’: Modifiers give “the illusion of meaning without its substance,” according to The Associated Press Guide to Good News Writing. |
 | They suck the energy out of your copy Reverbify noun phrases: Noun phrases muddy your words, lengthen your phrases and bore your readers. Turn anemic noun phrases into strong verbs. |
 | Don’t commit verbicide: Choose verbs, not nouns Action words streamline syllables Stop putting your copy through the de-verb-orizer: Verbs streamline syllables and make copy easier to read. |
More on short words | |
 | Resources on average word length Websites, books & other tools Decrease word length and increase understanding with these tools |
 | What writers and others say “Never use a big word when a diminutive phrase can be utilized.” — Anonymous |
Get more tips on word length tips on RevvingUpReadership.com