Today’s post is the final one in the “Six Things Readers Need” series. At some point, the series will be modified and turned into teaching materials. I think the series has importance to communication initiatives, and teaching materials could be helpful when giving talks about the subject of readership. Understanding one’s readers and remembering what it is to be a reader are tantamount to writing and communicating successfully.
Archives for April 2012
Six Things Readers Need: Voice
Every piece of writing has a voice. Even if the writing is written in the third-person, that writing has a voice. The reader can hear the timber of it. The reader becomes familiar with it. The voice becomes as real to them as a voice in a conversation does.
Six Things Readers Need: Respect
I hated my childhood endocrinologist. I would get nervous about seeing him weeks in advance. The reason was simple: he made me feel small, worthless, and stupid. After waiting for hours and hours to see him, he would rush into the examination room, tell my mother and I what was wrong and what I was doing wrong, and leave. He never spoke with me; he didn’t even speak to me. He spoke over and around me.
Six Things Readers Need: Facts
I’ve been thinking about the CarFax commercials. A customer enters the used-car lot and begins to look at automobiles. A salesperson approaches and, in the stereotypical, sleazy manner, tries to woo or strong-arm the customer into purchasing a vehicle. The customer pauses; the CarFax fox appears; and the customer leaves because the salesperson refuses to show the customer the facts about the vehicle.
Six Things Readers Need: Predictability
Most people enjoy having some sense of direction when they embark upon their reading. They want to know where the author might be leading them. They want to know what landmarks they can hope to view. They want some predictability.
Six Things Readers Need: Context
When I read, I have to have some sort of context. I’m not content reading a smattering of quotations, although I might if that is the context of a particular article for a particular reason. In general, though, I need to know who said the quote, and I need to know the context for the quote. Without those two things, a quote can be made to say anything, and that’s dangerous. Movements – religious, political, et cetera – can be based on a quotation taken out of context.