Manage Your Writing

This week: Use "readability" formulas wisely

A number of "readability" formulas, both manual and computer-based, have been developed to measure the difficulty of written text. Perhaps the most widely used is part of the grammar checker built into Microsoft Word. It and some others claim to report the number of years of schooling required to read a document.

The U.S. Securities Exchange Commission is a leader in calling for plain, easy-to-read language in government documents. So it's worthwhile to listen to what the SEC says about readability formulas:

You should be aware of a major flaw in every readability formula. No formula takes into account the content of the document being evaluated. In other words, no formula can tell you if you have conveyed the information clearly.

This week, if you have a readability checker available, give it a try. If it gives your draft a high grade-level score, take that score somewhat seriously, and look for ways to simplify. But don't automatically take the checker's specific advice. As the SEC says about readability formulas,

Take their suggestions as just that--suggestions. The final test of whether any piece of writing meets its goal of communicating information comes when humans read it.

This week: Separate rules from tools

When we first learned to write, we had to learn a lot of rules. So we sometimes believe that writing consists entirely of following rules. If we learn the rules, we'll be better writers.

Actually, writing has few rules, and we know and use almost all of them already. We know, for example, the rule that says that sentences must begin with capital letters. We know, in almost every case, the rule that singular subjects must have singular verbs.

To grow as writers, we don't need more rules. What we need are tools. And we need them most when we revise our messages.

This week, randomly pick one of the  posts on this blog that have been tagged "revising." (This post is the 159th, so you'll have lots to choose from.) Almost all these posts are tools, not rules, but if you choose one that you're sure is a rule, pick another. As you revise this week, think of that tool as if it's a physical tool in a toolbox. Look for opportunities to pick it up and use it. 

This week: Take as much time as you want others to take

Bill Jensen, in his book Simplicity, writes:

When people are in need of communication, they want others to take the time to listen, and then to take the time to create meaning, clarity, and connections between ideas. But when they have to do the communicating, saving time becomes a priority . . . .

When it comes to communication, business is facing major discipline and accountability problems. It's like the line about change: Taking the time to create clarity is important--as long as it's the other guy who has to do it.

Don't fall into this trap. This week, look at the writing you receive, and ask "What do I wish this writer had spent more time on?" Then, when you write, be sure to take the time you need to communicate effectively.

This week: Draft quick and dirty

The great editor Maxwell Perkins once said, "Just get it down on paper, and then we'll see what to do with it."

This week, take that advice. Draft quick and dirty. If you don't know how to spell a word, just approximate; you or your spell-checker can fix it later. (And please, please, don't let your word-processing program highlight misspellings while you draft.) If you don't know which of two words to use, use them both; you can decide between them when you look at your draft again at the revising stage. For now, just get comfortable with the idea of doing it wrong the first time.

In the end, you'll be a more efficient and effective writer.

This week: Watch the borders

Speaker Joe Griffith tells a story of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) under J. Edgar Hoover:

A young FBI man was put in charge of the FBI's supply department. In an effort to cut cost, he reduced the size of memo paper.

One of the new memo sheets ended up on J. Edgar Hoover's desk. He disliked it immediately and wrote on the narrow margin, "Watch the borders."

His message was misinterpreted. For the next six weeks, it was extremely difficult to enter the United States by road from either Mexico or Canada.

This, week watch your borders--not the physical margins of your printed documents, but the much more important and elusive borders between your reader's understanding and misunderstanding. As you revise your messages, ask yourself whether there's any way they can be misunderstood. If so, move the message  across the border into comprehension.