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 American adult receives over 120 emails and over 100 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 behavioral 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 words • Lower the reading level • Use formatting judiciously • Make the purpose clear for skimmers • Emphasize value for readers • Make 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 Strunk, White, and Zinsser's core ideas into the 21st century's radically transformed attention marketplace.
