‘Applewood-smoked bacon’ just tastes better Turns out a Southwestern Tex-Mex salad by any other name would not taste as good. Vivid menu descriptions — “applewood-smoked bacon,” “Maytag blue cheese” and “buttery plump pasta,” for instance — can increase restaurant sales up to 27 percent, according to research by Brian Wansink. Furthermore, diners feel more satisfied … [Read more...] about As good as your word
Tight writing
Can you read me now?
21% of U.S. adults have trouble using a street map What reading grade level should you hit on the Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog or other readability indexes? If you're writing for a broad audience, you might consider starting with eighth on the Flesch-Kincaid test. Ratchet up or down from there depending on your audience members' sophistication. Why so low? In 1993, the … [Read more...] about Can you read me now?
Polish your paragraphs
Encourage readership by making them tight When researchers for The Poynter Institute looked into what makes people read online, they found that one key predictor of attention was paragraph length. Researchers wrote: “The bottom line is that stories with shorter paragraphs got more than twice as many overall eye fixations than those with longer paragraphs. These data suggest … [Read more...] about Polish your paragraphs
‘By my grandma’
How to identify the passive voice Do you have trouble finding and fixing the passive voice? Here are two tips for making in easier. 1. Add “by my grandma.” If you can add “by my grandma” to the end of a sentence, it’s probably passive voice, agent deleted, says Tim Burnett, who handles Express communications at FedEx. Example: “A nap was taken … by my grandma.” 2. Make … [Read more...] about ‘By my grandma’
Find your focus
Tighten your angle The editor of a travel magazine once asked me to write a story about Kansas City. “Kansas City,” I said. “Would that be Kansas City barbecue? An insider’s guide to where the bodies are buried? The perfect weekend for lovers? Kansas City on the quick, on the cheap or for the family?” “Yup,” she said. “Kansas City.” Well, I know Kansas City. I’ve … [Read more...] about Find your focus