The Science of Strong Business Writing
Mastering the art of business writing is no less than a science. It's about striking the right balance between clarity, persuasion, and brevity. Let's delve into the principles that make business writing effective and impactful.
Brain scans show what entices readers
Advances in neurobiology and psychology show exactly how the brain responds to words, phrases, and stories
- Good writing gets dopamine flowing in the area of the brain known as the reward circuit
- Each word, phrase, or idea acts as a stimulus, causing the brain to instantly answer a stream of questions: Does this promise value? Will I like it? Can I learn from it?
Smart Thinking
Making people feel smart-giving them an “aha” moment-is another way to please readers
- One way is to draw fresh distinctions.
- Another strategy is to phrase a pragmatic message so that it also evokes a perennial, universal truth
- The late Max De Pree, founder and CEO of the office furniture company Herman Miller, said: “The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you.”
Storytelling
The neural effect of an engaging tale: when a story begins, listeners’ brains immediately begin glowing in a specific pattern
- Midbrain regions of the reward circuit come to life
- When you incorporate stories into your communications, big payoffs can result: Melissa Lynne Murphy found that study participants formed more favorable impressions of pitches with richer narratives
The eight S’s can be your secret weapons in writing well
They’re effective tools for engaging readers because they trigger the same neural responses that other pleasurable stimuli do
- You probably understand their value intuitively because millions of years of evolution have trained our brains to know what feels right
- So cultivate those instincts. They’ll lead you to the writer’s version of the Golden Rule: Reward readers as you would yourself
Stirring Language
Our brains process the emotional connotations of a word within 200 milliseconds of reading it-much faster than we understand its meaning
- When we read emotionally charged material, we reflexively react with feelings-fear, joy, awe, disgust, and so forth-because our brains have been trained since hunter-gatherer times to respond that way
- Reason follows. We then combine the immediate feeling and subsequent thought to create meaning
Simplicity
“Keep it simple.”
- Increases “processing fluency”
- Short sentences, familiar words, and clean syntax ensure that the reader doesn’t have to exert too much brainpower to understand your meaning
- People infer that simpler patterns yield better predictions, explanations, and decisions
- Cut extraneous words and use the active voice
Seductiveness
People are often happier planning a vacation than they are after taking one
- You can generate this same anticipation in your writing
- Start a report with a question
- Position your customer problem as a conundrum
- Put readers in a state of uncertainty so that you can then lead them to something better
Social Content
Our brains are wired to crave human connection-even in what we read
- One way to help readers connect with you and your writing is to reveal more traces of yourself in it
- Think voice, worldview, vocabulary, wit, syntax, poetic rhythm, sensibilities
- Remember also to include the human angle in any topic you’re discussing
- Another simple trick to engage readers is to use the second person (“you”)
Specificity
Specifics awaken a swath of brain circuits
- Our neurons actually “embody” what words mean
- When we hear more specific words, we “taste,” “feel,” and “see” traces of the real thing
- Another specificity tactic is to give readers a memorable shorthand phrase
Surprise
Surprise can make your message stick, helping readers learn and retain information
- Jean-Louis Dessalles, a researcher in artificial intelligence and cognitive science at Télécom Paris, conducted an experiment that demonstrated people’s affinity for the unexpected
- The vast majority of people preferred the most unexpected ending
- So reward your readers with novelty
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