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SheliaH (Indiana)
Posts: 6,964
Posted:
(This is one I think I will take to heart this year!)

This article can be a great help to people who put together their community's newsletters or website articles, and it definitely can be useful to HOA secretaries who have to write board meeting minutes! Enjoy - and note the first comment at the end of the article!

https://www.thoughtleadersllc.com/2024/12/reasons-no-one-reads-anything-you-write/

If it is not right do not do it; if it is not true do not say it. Marcus Aurelius
CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299
Posted:
Excellent article!

The best piece of advice I got: assume you'll get 3 minutes of people's attention. Therefore:

* Keep it simple. The less people have to work, the more they'll retain.

* Put essential information in titles and headers. (It's probably all that will be read.)

* Use FONT CHANGES, bolding, underlining, and different colors to catch people's eyes,

* Use white space to make things stand out!

* Use graphics to communicate visually.

I've attached a sample of the graphic that has been distributed to our membership, discussed in meetings, and has appeared in our newsletter. It visually condenses several minutes of yapping and several paragraphs of text. I'm trying to change the mistaken belief that keeping assessments down will keep expenses down, so the membership is getting reminded periodically...
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JackieB4 (California)
Posts: 398
Posted:
Cathy and Sheila, Thank you both for summarizing the essentials of good communication. It's easy to slip into "habits" and forget what works.
ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,336
Posted:
The first comment at the end of the article advises this:

Try to limit each sentence to 12 words or less.

Try to limit paragraphs to four sentences or less.

CathyA3 (Ohio)
Posts: 6,299
Posted:
The article that Sheila shares is targeted toward business writing. In general, audience determines style.

The development of the internet has led to more visual styles of communication.

I've noticed that since I've spent so much time dealing with business writing, I have much less patience with literary style writing.

When I write up things for my fellow board members, I tell them that they can get the gist of it by reading the stuff in blue (headers and bullet points). The text in black provides details and nuance, both of which are needed by board members but can overwhelm the inexperienced.

Our community newsletters are web style even though they won't be on the web. Much white space, headers and bullet points, use of graphics to replace text when possible. Only as many details as needed, and no nuance since an HOA newsletter isn't the place for it.

ElleN (Idaho)
Posts: 1,336
Posted:
From https://insidegovuk.blog.gov.uk/2014/08/04/sentence-length-why-25-words-is-our-limit/ :

Writing guru Ann Wylie describes research showing that when average sentence length is 14 words, readers understand more than 90% of what they’re reading. At 43 words, comprehension drops to less than 10%.

Studies also show that sentences of 11 words are considered easy to read, while those of 21 words are fairly difficult. At 25 words, sentences become difficult, and 29 words or longer, very difficult.

Long sentences aren't just difficult for people who struggle with reading or have a cognitive disability like dyslexia or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. They're also a problem for highly literate people with extensive vocabularies.

This is partly because people tend to scan, not read. In fact, most people only read around 25% of what’s on a page. This means it’s important to get information across quickly.


Other sites on the net generally reinforce this advice about sentence length.

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