WEBVTT - Read it out loud

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to become a better writer by reading

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<v Speaker 1>what you write out loud before sharing it. I've always

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<v Speaker 1>loved to write, and so I was really lucky that

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<v Speaker 1>my first job after college was a year long internship

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<v Speaker 1>at USA Today. I worked on the op ed page,

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<v Speaker 1>mostly fact checking and helping with layout. The biggest upside

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<v Speaker 1>was that I worked for some very encouraging editors. When

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<v Speaker 1>I expressed interest in writing op eds, they did not

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<v Speaker 1>immediately shoot down the idea of a twenty three year

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<v Speaker 1>old intern doing such a thing. They helped me work

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<v Speaker 1>on my writing, and over the course of the year

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<v Speaker 1>I got several essays published. With everything I wrote, I

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<v Speaker 1>used some of the best writing advice I ever got,

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<v Speaker 1>and this came from one of my editors there. She

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<v Speaker 1>said it, I think in passing. You know, Laura, when

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<v Speaker 1>people are reading things silently in their heads, they're still

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<v Speaker 1>hearing the words as if they're spoken, So you need

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<v Speaker 1>to write as if your words are being read out loud.

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<v Speaker 1>I realized immediately how brilliant this was, because it's true.

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<v Speaker 1>Next time you're reading something, notice how you're processing it.

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<v Speaker 1>You probably hear the words even if you're reading silently.

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<v Speaker 1>That means that things are more pleasant for the brain

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<v Speaker 1>when they're more pleasant for the ear. You can use

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<v Speaker 1>this to your advantage. You can make your writing more

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<v Speaker 1>appealing by reading anything of consequence out loud before you

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<v Speaker 1>publish it. This step of reading out loud will do

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<v Speaker 1>several good things. First, you'll write tighter, because wordy sentences

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<v Speaker 1>are hard to say. When you find yourself tripping over

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<v Speaker 1>a sentence, that's a sign that editing would help. Second,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll vary your sentence length. If you've ever heard a

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<v Speaker 1>really good preacher, you know that sermons often feature a

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<v Speaker 1>few short sentences with parallel structure, punctuated by longer ones.

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<v Speaker 1>The preacher chooses this rhythm because it's appealing even for

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<v Speaker 1>difficult truths. You want people to say that about your writing, too. Finally,

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<v Speaker 1>you'll end your sentences strong. In general, single syllable words

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<v Speaker 1>provide the most satisfactory conclusion to a phrase. I don't

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<v Speaker 1>know why this is, I do know it's true. You

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<v Speaker 1>don't have to always honor this truth, but your writing

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<v Speaker 1>will read better when you can now I will admit

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<v Speaker 1>that I don't read my emails about next week's schedule

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<v Speaker 1>out loud. Some writing is purely utilitarian, but with the

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<v Speaker 1>growth of audio books and podcasts, writing for the ear

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<v Speaker 1>has turned out to be a useful skill. Given how

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<v Speaker 1>much bad writing is out there, Anything that makes your

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<v Speaker 1>writing stand out can give you an advantage. So if

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<v Speaker 1>you're writing something of consequence, take a few extra minutes

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<v Speaker 1>to read it out loud and adjust your words to

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<v Speaker 1>make them sound better. People might not know why they

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<v Speaker 1>like reading what you've written, but I promise you that

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<v Speaker 1>they will in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,

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<v Speaker 1>and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at iHeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I

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<v Speaker 1>look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I

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<v Speaker 1>Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts,

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<v Speaker 1>or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.