Here are the first six tips you can use to ensure that Baby Boomers will clearly understand what you’re trying to communicate.
1. Keep it simple. Simplicity is crucial to clear communication.
2. Eliminate jargon, euphemisms and clichés. Use fresh language in an interesting and engaging way. Become sensitive to the subtle aspects of vocabulary and grammar. Employ nuances of meanings and usage with fine discrimination.
3. Play by the rules. Use proper syntax and grammar. You must master writing by the rules before you can even consider breaking them.
4. Choose powerful verbs to drive each sentence. Forget about passive voice, keep it active, and you’ll seldom have to worry about using adverbs to shore up weak-sounding verbs.
5. Thoughtfully select your nouns. Make them concrete and colorful. A sure sign of a poor writer is the tendency to lean on adjectives to help support puny nouns. And don’t use nouns as verbs. “Impact” is primarily a noun. Sure, you can use it as a verb, but when you do, it sounds strange. Besides, it’s not nearly as clear or powerful as the word “strike,” for instance. And keep a thesaurus handy, because that’s where all the really cool nouns hang out. In fact, you should think of that reference book as a spice rack that can add a little zing to your writing and keep people interested enough to continue reading.
6. Cut way back on adjectives and adverbs. If you use concrete, descriptive nouns and expressive, active verbs you won’t need to embellish your writing with too many adjectives and adverbs. And that will be just fine, because more often than not, they simply bloat sentences, and get in the reader’s way.
Tune in tomorrow for six more tips on how to become a clear, powerful writer with real Boomer appeal.
1 comment:
It is certainly interesting for me to read the article. Thank you for it. I like such themes and anything that is connected to this matter. I definitely want to read more soon.
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