WRITE TO GET YOUR MESSAGE ACROSS

“Sound bites” capture our attention as we listen to the news or a commercial. They are short, crisp statements that are different from the ordinary dialog. Often they have a different pitch when delivered by the announcer.

“Eye bites” capture our attention when we are reading. Often they are italicized or set off from the rest of the paragraph by indenting. Short, crisp statements meant to capture your attention.

The phenomena of sound bites and eye bites have become more prevalent. Applications like Twitter and text messaging are becoming integrated into our lives as people. People are demanding information be received without fluff words (adverbs).

Writing a paragraph? Surveys have revealed that people do not read paragraphs in reports, resumes, or proposals that are longer than 4.5 lines in length.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TIP:

If you are the first to arrive at a restaurant, and you know you will want separate checks, ask the server to prepare separate checks before the other guests arrive.