The Art of the Unsaid: How Negative Space in Writing Boosts Engagement

What if your writing could be more powerful precisely because of what you don’t say? I’m not talking about redacted content, though that seems to be a popular topic these days. I’m talking about methods to inform and engage without drowning our readers in excess. I’m talking about leveraging negative space—not in the sense of page layout or white space, but rather in the sense of what’s implied, unsaid, or suggested rather than explicitly stated.

When used judiciously, negative space invites your readers to leverage their own expertise and imagination, ultimately deepening their connection to your message. The tricky part is to allow your audience to apply their experiences to your conceptual piece without causing them confusion or frustration.

Read more

A Most Sophisticated Error in Technical Writing

While writing plainly with clear terminology is always the goal in technical communication, sometimes we must create a complex sentence (like this one!) to convey our meaning. Or we find that we must include a noun clause (like this one!) or even (shudder!) a modifying phrase or clause.

First, the good news. Complex sentence patterns reveal intelligence and a tendency to write in a sophisticated way. Most experienced technical writers fall into this category.

The bad news is that these sentence patterns are easy to screw up. Let me explain why and provide some tips on how to avoid clouding the meaning of your sentences.

Read more

A Guide to Storytelling for Online Content

In today’s saturated digital landscape, standing out as a brand or subject matter expert requires more than just presenting facts and data. It demands capturing the attention and emotions of your audience through the age-old art of storytelling.

Whether you’re a business writer crafting marketing collateral or a technical writer documenting complex processes, incorporating storytelling into your online content can significantly enhance its impact and resonance with readers.

The Magic of Storytelling

Stories, the oldest and most powerful form of communication, have a unique ability to captivate and engage. As Cynthia Lockrey highlighted in her presentation “5 Tips for Impactful Storytelling” (American Migraine Foundation, June 29, 2023), stories are more than just a sequence of events. They are a vehicle for knowledge retention. Research suggests that they can boost retention by 2 to 10 times better than facts alone. But what makes stories so potent?

Read more

Instructions Need a Dénouement, Too

If your job is to create instructions for a product user, plot it out, and don’t skip the dénouement!

Unfamiliar with the term “dénouement?” In literature, the term refers to the ultimate outcome or explanation of a plotline. Literally, in Middle French (its origin), it means to “untie” or “unravel.”

What does all this have to do with writing instructions? If your instructions are taking a user on a journey through a set of tasks (think Campbell’s hero’s journey here), then I urge you to “unravel” the expected outcome of their journey for them – and help them to know they are on the right path along the way. Here’s how.

Read more