Writing That Sells

Overcome information overload

by Ann Wylie, president, Wylie Communications Inc.

"One question: If this is the Information Age, how come nobody knows anything?"

— Woman at a party in a New Yorker cartoon

What we used to call information overload has gone wa-a-a-a-ay beyond that. Now we suffer from "fact fog" and "data smog"; we're drowning in an information deluge. With our readers buried under an information avalanche, what's an editor to do?

Shaving a couple more words off the lead story won't cut it. We need to rethink the way we deliver information. To communicate in an information-drenched environment, editors must practice these five strategies:

Consider the cost of communicating. That will help you determine whether your publication is worth the investment — or whether it's just eight more sheets of paper in the information avalanche.

Analyze the value of communicating. The end itself should be improved business performance — not just additional data to rattle around in readers' already-overstuffed brains.

Rewrite your job description. As consultant Diane Gayeski, Ph.D., says, "Be a complexity reducer, not an information producer."

Add value, don't just subtract words. Ask yourself, What am I doing to make sure my readers receive the context and analysis they need to understand the world around them, instead of "just the facts, ma'am"?

Do less, but do it better. If you find yourself running an urgent flash update three times before lunch, and your company isn't the target of a hostile takeover, consider the possibility that you're not delivering timely, important information. You're being a nuisance. Remember, just because God gave us an index finger and a send button doesn't mean He intended for us to use them all of the time.

Overcoming the overkill

As the data deluge threatens to engulf the world, your readers need writers and editors who add value to information instead of just repackaging it, who translate instead of regurgitate and who inform instead of disseminate.

Do that, and you can transform a flood of facts into a stream of knowledge.

And that's the gold standard of the Information Age.

Need more techniques for creating a structure that makes your copy easier to read and write? Check out Ann's workshops and learning tools.

About the author

Ann Wylie runs a company called Wylie Communications Inc. Ann works with communicators who want to reach more readers and with organizations that want to get the word out. To learn more about her training, consulting or writing and editing services, call Ann at 816/997-8753 or e-mail her at ann@wyliecomm.com. Get a FREE subscription to Ann's e-mail newsletter at http://www.wyliecomm.com/newsletter_signup.shtml.

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