Writing for busy readers : communicate more effectively in the real world

We were all taught the fundamentals of writing well in school.

But how do we write effectively in today’s hyper-interactive world?When The Elements of Style and On Writing Well were published in 1959 and 1976, the internet hadn’t been invented.

Since then, there has been a radical transformation in how we communicate.

The average adult receives over 100 emails and tens of text messages each day.

With all this correspondence, gaining a busy reader’s attention is now a competition. Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink, both behavioural scientists, offer practical writing advice you can use today.

They begin by outlining cognitive facts about how busy people read, then detail six research-backed principles for effective writing:Use fewer wordsLower the reading levelUse formatting judiciouslyMake the purpose clear for skimmersEmphasise value for readersMake responding as easy as possible. Including many examples, a checklist, and other tools for the most effective writing, this handbook will make you a more effective communicator.

Rogers and Lasky-Fink bring conventional ideas about text-based communication into the 21st century’s radically transformed attention marketplace.