Writing for Busy Readers
Communicate More Effectively in the Real World
By Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink
Becoming an effective communicator is even more important today than ever before. Everything from education to business, socializing to healthcare is being done remotely. We all write and receive more communications than ever—and this trend is only going to accelerate.
Writing for Busy Readers is both a practical guide for writing so that busy people read and respond to our communications, and an intellectual adventure through the science of why these strategies work. The book aims to help those in business writing, grant writing, government writing—really, everyone who writes anything—communicate more effectively. From family and friends’ text plans, to C-suite executives and managers emailing their teams, from educators writing to parents to organizers motivating protests, from doctors and lawyers writing to clients to marketers writing to…everyone.
If you’re wondering why this business writing book description wasn’t shorter, it’s because Google dislikes pages with thin content. And because we needed more opportunities to say “business writing book.”
Principles
Less Is More
Design for Easy Navigation
Emphasize Why They Should Care
Make Reading Easy
Use Enough Formatting, But No More
Make Responding Easy
Less Is More
Use fewer words, include fewer ideas, and make fewer requests of your reader.
Design for Easy Navigation
People skim, so: make the purpose immediately clear; organize content; and make separate topics, ideas, and asks visually distinct.
Emphasize Why They Should Care
Make it clear why readers should care about your message.
Make Reading Easy
Use short, familiar words and brief, straightforward sentences. Check readability and aim for a 5th grade reading level or below when possible.
Use Enough Formatting, But No More
Use formatting to draw attention to the most important items. Don’t overuse formatting; remove it from information that is not critical.
Make Responding Easy
Make next steps and action items clear, precise, and easy to follow through on. Provide all information needed and reduce the number of steps required to act.
It’s hard to communicate with busy people.
And everyone is busy.
Book Reviews
Charles Duhigg
Author of The Power of Habit and Smarter Faster Better
“Rogers and Lasky-Fink’s research has fascinated me for a long time—and one of the reasons it’s so great is because their writing is so readable. This book is an explanation about how to transform your own everyday writing so that it is easier to read, easier to write—and more likely to make a real difference in the world.”
Arthur C. Brooks
Harvard Kennedy School and Harvard Business School, author of From Strength to Strength
“I wish this book had existed earlier in my career, because it would have saved me from countless mistakes and wasted hours. Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink show how effective writing makes life and work easier, more pleasant, and more productive. Read it today and you will write better tomorrow.”
Robert Cialdini
Author of Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
“A home run. A must read for everyone who communicates in writing.”
Training & Speaking
