Writing for Busy Readers: Communicate More Effectively in the Real World by Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink spells out the six principles you can follow to increase the probability that people will read, understand, and respond to what you write. Be sure to add it to your professional development library.

Introduction

• This book sets out the six fundamental principles of effective writing. It should have a well-defined purpose, help the writer and the reader, not be beautiful writing, have a rigorous science underlying its rules, and have a real context. Busy people tend to skim, postpone, or ignore complex messages. The average professional spends nearly one-third of their time reading and responding to email. If messages are ineffective they impose a tax on the readers’ time. Voters, for example are likely to skip ballot questions that use complex language.
• Much of what we learned in school is irrelevant or counterproductive in the real-world. The principles in this book are derived from the sciences of cognitive psychology, social psychology, behavioral economics, neuroscience, marketing, and time management. The authors draw on randomized studies and have worked hard to make this book easy to navigate. (Doug: I think they have.)

Part I: Engaging the Reader – 1. Get Inside Your Reader’s Head

• Our brains have a limited ability to attend to and focus on multiple things, which also limits our ability to act. Unfortunately, we all tend to multitask, which is really task switching. When we switch from one task to another we are less efficient at both tasks and are more likely to commit errors. Even if we focus on a single task, we tire over time. Our writing, therefore, has to respect this landscape of stress and distraction.

2. Think Like a Busy REader

• Readers first have to decide to engage. This usually depends on the envelop, which is the subject line for an email or the importance of the sender. They also need to decide when to engage. Most readers tackle things first that appear to be easier. They need to decide how much time to engage where the decision to skim or scan comes in. Scanning involves reading things like headings and the first sentences of paragraphs. Finally, they have to decide whether to respond. To increase the probability the request has to be clear so the reader knows the task and how to do it. Make it as easy as possible. Above all, know your goals.

3. Know Your Goals

• Effective writing is about transferring key information from writer to reader. What is the most important information you want your reader to know? You cannot achieve your goals as a writer if you are unclear on what those goals are.

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