Tips for Communicators

The Web -- Writing or Conversation?

The Web is an entirely new communication medium.  Web “content” is often created with text, yet engaging content often sounds more like casual conversation.  When you’re planning Web content, remember that:

 The Queen’s English doesn’t always apply.  Sentences can begin with conjunctions and end with prepositions – just like speech.

• Content can come in bits and pieces.  Sentence fragments are often OK.
• Contractions and casualness rule.  "Yeah" sometimes works better than "yes."  And "it’s"  sometimes works better than "it is."
• Lists and bullet points can get the message across more effectively than conventional paragraphs.
• Trains of thought can start and end anywhere.  And then expanded with convenient hyperlinks.
•  It’s OK to turn discourse into dialogue.  Traditional text can be interspersed with reader (or viewer) reaction.  Or photos, animation and sound.
•  So when you’re preparing Web content, don’t just write text.  Talk instead – and you’ll create conversation that produces results.

Use Literary Devices to Add Color to Your Writing

Literary devices can add color and life to your writing.  Some examples:

• Parody – A humorous rendition of an otherwise serious situation. 
• Proverb – A famous, perhaps ancient, saying that illustrates common wisdom. 
• Metaphor – A phrase or idea that symbolizes and represents a concrete place or situation.
• Oxymoron – A seemingly contradictory set of ideas used in conjunction with each other.
• Riddle – A thought-provoking question designed to suggest some deeper idea.

Writing for the Web

Here are ten tips you can use to attract -- and keep -- audience interest on the Web:

1. Use anecdotes.
2. Use lists, charts, and bulleted points to break text up.
3. Keep sentences and paragraphs short.
4. Use illustrations and examples.
5. When presenting in-depth information, place it in a separate file accessible via a hyperlink.
6. Use headlines and other visual breaks to organize text.
7. Write conversationally. For example, talk directly to your reader using second person point of view.
8. Create text using attractive, easy-to-read typefaces.
9. Insert interactive features -- quizzes, surveys, games, and other devices -- alongside text whenever possible.
10. Create opportunities for e-mail feedback.

Resolve Editing Problems with a Style Manual

Not sure about capitalization rules for certain nouns? Or whether to use a serial comma? Or have questions about any one of hundreds of other language rules? To insure consistency in your publication - and to minimize disagreements with colleagues and authors - adopt and use a style manual. These comprehensive guides offer you a thorough summary of grammar and language rules, and they're used extensively in large corporations. A few examples of style manuals: Webster's Manual of Style, Chicago Manual of Style, Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. You can also develop your own "mini" style manual covering common editorial issues, using the more comprehensive published manuals as a backup.