Found 17 topics tagged ‘Gaining Attention’

SPOILER: it’s not good. Sure—you know you’re writing an email to 5,000 people. But your task is to make your reader feel like you’re writing only to them. When ‘broadcasting’ language slips into our writing,...

Let’s be honest, this stuff is hard. Never in human history has there been a communication medium more competitive than the Internet. Never has our collective attention span been more fleeting. As much as...

Don’t undercut a great email by hiding it behind a poor subject line. These few words have the power to make or break your broadcast. Inboxes are generally cluttered, un-fun places. You can either...

Imagine you’re at a party. There are plenty of new people you could meet and talk to. There’s a guy talking himself up. You know—all the work he has to do; his accomplishments; how great everyone thinks...

Cognitive biases are powerful mental distortions that affect the way we think and behave. They are so powerful that they can lead people to act against their own best interests. If you understand them, you can...

Knowing how much or how little to say starts with being clear about your objective. Rarely is it our job to turn readers into subject-matter experts. Mostly, we’re in the business of motivating people to action. If...