Why should a person care about better writing (and writing better) or about hiring better writers? It’s a valid question, especially when recruiters – purportedly seeking to hire writers – post the following job advertisement: “There has been an explosion in the need for online writers, regardless of skill. These companies are more interested in your honest genuine opinions when you’re writing blog entries about their company… not if you are a very talented writer.”
writers
Six Things Readers Need: Clarity
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.
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.