Tips: Cut through the Clutter

My most important piece of advice to would-be writers: when you write, try to leave out all the parts readers skip.
-Elmore Leonard, author of Get Shorty

In today’s time-compressed environment, cutting through the clutter to deliver relevant messages is the bain of a communicator’s existence. 

To that end, c21 stays cutting edge by reviewing the latest resources to help us drive remarkable results for our clients.

We hope that you also will take advantage of some of these tips provided by renowned communicator Ann Wylie.

  • Edit your writing using the “funnel” system – look at the document as a whole, then each paragraph, then each sentence, and so on.

  • Readers tend to skip long paragraphs, so keep them to an average of 42 words.  An excellent rule of thumb is the 1-2-3-4-5 rule: one idea, two to three sentences, and four to five lines on the page. 

  • No paragraph should be longer than 63 words.

  • The lead paragraph in a story should not exceed 25 words and should act as a bridge into the rest of the piece.

  • Readers get lost in long sentences because they are forced to restring the subject, verb and object.  A good test for the length of a sentence is to recite it before a match burns out.  The fewer words there are in a sentence, the greater the reader’s comprehension.

  • Use of industry jargon with an external audience can greatly decrease your readership.  Tailor your vocabulary to your audience.

  • Choose short words – the longer the word, the harder it is for people to understand.  “Hard words” are usually those with three or more syllables.  You can also use readability characteristics found in Microsoft Word, or characters per word.  It’s best to have an average of five characters per word for the entire piece.

  • Read the copy aloud to yourself to make it more conversational.  People who read aloud have copy that flows well and reads better.

You have a few precious moments to catch a reader’s attention – after that, he or she has moved on to something else.  Hopefully, these tips will help you draw in your audience and make your story a “must read.”  For more information about Ann Wylie, visit WylieComm.com.

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