WEBVTT - Write for the ear

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

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<v Speaker 2>Good Morning, This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's tip is to

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<v Speaker 1>write for the ear. If you assume that whatever you

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<v Speaker 1>write will be read out loud, and you structure your

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<v Speaker 1>writing to make that possible, your writing will be more

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<v Speaker 1>compelling and clear. This week, I'm sharing several of my

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<v Speaker 1>favorite writing tips. Whether you write for a living or not,

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<v Speaker 1>you may have to write reports or emails or articles

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<v Speaker 1>for industry publications. Certain tactics can make all writing better.

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<v Speaker 1>When I write these podcast scripts, I am obviously writing

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<v Speaker 1>them to be read out loud. That is the whole

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<v Speaker 1>point of a podcast script. But even writing that isn't

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<v Speaker 1>designed to be recorded benefits from approaching it as if

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<v Speaker 1>it would be. That's because of how people actually process

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<v Speaker 1>written language. Many years ago, an editor told me almost

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<v Speaker 1>in passing, that when people read things silently, they are

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<v Speaker 1>actually saying them in their heads. As a result, writing

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<v Speaker 1>that sounds better to the ear reads better even if

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<v Speaker 1>you never actually hear it. When I write these scripts,

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<v Speaker 1>I practice reading them out loud. When I do, I

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<v Speaker 1>immediately see things that need to be edited. Sometimes sentences

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<v Speaker 1>are too long, they need to be broken up so

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<v Speaker 1>I can get through them without gasping for breath. Sometimes

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<v Speaker 1>sentences are all the same length, too many long sentences,

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<v Speaker 1>or for that matter, too many short sentences in.

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<v Speaker 2>A row boring. Finally, certain words and sentence structures sound

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<v Speaker 2>stronger than others. It turns out that ending a sentence

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<v Speaker 2>on a solid one syllable word generally feels more satisfying

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<v Speaker 2>than ending it on a long one. So rather than

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<v Speaker 2>writing being clear and compelling, you want it to be

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<v Speaker 2>compelling and clear. Some of this becomes habit over time.

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<v Speaker 2>If you want an example of what good spoken language

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<v Speaker 2>sounds like, try listening to a really good preacher. These

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<v Speaker 2>people often have it down because they're talking to crowds

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<v Speaker 2>many times a week. But even in the absence of that,

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<v Speaker 2>if you simply commit to reading your own writing out

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<v Speaker 2>loud before you publish it or hit send, you will

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<v Speaker 2>likely spot problems. You will see that some words sound

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<v Speaker 2>better than others, you will see where you are gasping

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<v Speaker 2>from breath, and you'll break things up that will help

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<v Speaker 2>readers be able to make it through your writing too. Now,

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<v Speaker 2>I know that most of us don't do this with

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<v Speaker 2>casual writings such as emails. But imagine if we did

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<v Speaker 2>reading email would feel more pleasurable, and thus we'd be

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<v Speaker 2>able to get our points across and maybe we'd send

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<v Speaker 2>fewer emails. That wouldn't be a bad thing at all.

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<v Speaker 2>In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and

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<v Speaker 2>here's to making the most of our time.

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<v Speaker 3>Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can

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<v Speaker 3>send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just

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<v Speaker 3>connect with me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at before

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<v Speaker 3>Breakfast pod. That's b the number four than Breakfast pod.

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<v Speaker 3>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 3>Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com that before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 3>out with all the letters.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks so much.

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<v Speaker 3>Should I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 3>is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio,

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<v Speaker 3>visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen

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<v Speaker 3>to your favorite shows.