Measure, manage & report readability

4 more ways to use reading ease

Paying attention to readability will help you reach readers, improve communication and boost the bottom line. It can also help you manage writers, win debates during the approval process and report measurable communication success.

Use readability statistics to:

1. Benchmark readability.

Measure the readability of the publications and websites you — and your approvers — want to emulate. We’ve benchmarked telecomm trades and defense-industry journals (including The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal) for you.

Use those benchmarks to set your own readability standards. And refer to those measures when approvers want to muck up your copy.

2. Measure, manage and improve communications.

Set readability standards for your group or organization, measure readability, then edit and rewrite to meet your standards.

3. Retain readability after approvals.

Tellabs’ George Stenitzer runs readability stats on every draft — “especially after reviewers have gunked them up” — to maintain his group’s readability standards.

4. Report readability.

Don’t stop with web statistics or open and clickthrough rates. Readability is another easy way to measure communication success.

“I share the results with my boss to demonstrate the impact of my work and to my clients for education,” says Susie Albrecht, director of employee communications at Charles Schwab. “My communications are more user-friendly and effective — more simple, clear and actionable.”

How else can you use readability measures in your organization?