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When Writing for Busy Readers, Less Is More
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When Writing for Busy Readers, Less Is More

Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink
Behavioral Scientist, 2023
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8

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Recommendation

Have you read Tolstoy’s War and Peace? Have you tackled Proust’s In Search of Lost Time? How about Cervantes’s Don Quixote or Joyce’s Ulysses? It doesn’t take a genius to work out why so many people struggle to complete these epic classics: Long texts are daunting. This is as true of an email as it is of a historical novel. Scholars Todd Rogers and Jessica Lasky-Fink underline the importance of brevity in writing. If you want to maximize your messages’ reach and effectiveness, read their concise advice.

Take-Aways

  • If you want your writing to strike a chord with your audience, remember the golden rule: Less is more.
  • Shorter texts reduce “early quitting,” a reader’s tendency to abandon a text before reaching the end.
  • Sending unnecessarily long emails disrespects your readers’ time.

About the Authors

Todd Rogers is a professor of public policy at Harvard University. He teaches communicators how to write better for busy audiences. Jessica Lasky-Fink is the research director at the People Lab. She applies insights from behavioral science to improve the delivery of government services and programs. Rogers and Lasky-Fink co-wrote Writing for Busy Readers.

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    J. M. 6 months ago
    Good
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    A. V. 9 months ago
    The average person receives numerous messages daily, with professionals spending one-third of their workweek reading and responding to emails. However, more writing may lead to less reader engagement, with 165 out of 166 professionals preferring concise messages.