Home
>
Writing
>
Applying KISS Principle in Writing

Applying KISS Principle in Writing

I have added a new word to my vocabulary. Logorrhea. We've all been touched by it. What is it? The Word Spy defines it, "excessive verbosity and long-windedness. Also know as verbal diarrhea."

Basically, you'll see plenty of examples of logorrhea in online blogs and content. Do you read every online or email content word for word? Most people quickly scan such content. Jakob Nielsen and many other experts confirm this theory.

It's best to keep it short 'n sweet. There are online Web sites that require 1000+ word articles. This does not mean running free and writing wordy. Ezine editors require tightly written articles. Here are a few tips to help you ensure your writing is concise.

I'm pretty guilty of using qualifiers. While researching this article, I attended a meeting where the manager used, "basically" in every other sentence. That word rang in my head that I said it while talking with her.

Basically, these qualifiers are the "um" of writing. Like "uh" and "um" in conversation, the sentence with the qualifier says the same thing without them. Let's take a look. Reread the second paragraph of this article without the word, "basically." Doesn't it sound better? It gets the same point across.

Forget the following words: "pretty," "rather," "totally," "really," "quite," "basically," "actually," and "very." OK, there
may actually be situations when you need to use one of these words, but use it with care. After all, we can't imagine life or Elvis Presley without "thank you very much."

I worked for a manager with a PhD and he liked giving us articles relating to our work. I hated these articles. They were written by and for people with PhDs. Come on, you know what I mean. Every word in these papers are at least eight letters long and require frequent dictionary use. It makes readers feel stupid. Remember people are scanning online content and they'll more likely absorb simple phrases. People are not stupid. They're overloaded with too much information. If it's complex, they'll skip it and move on. Besides, no one likes a show-off.

How often have you heard, "large-sized" or "biggie-sized" in advertising? That's fine for TV or radio advertising. For
writing, well, it's wordy. We can lop off the "sized" and simply write "large" or "big" object. Instead of "mud-covered shoes," use "muddy shoes." Dump the "beautifully-dressed" for "beautiful."

When I was a wee gal, articles written by me had passive voice. Er, I did it again. That should be, "I wrote articles using passive voice." The hardest part is to avoid it when you don't have a subject or don't know who is the performer.

In passive voice, the subject receives the action expressed by the verb. There are two parts in passive voice: a form of the verb "to be" plus a past participle. Instead, use active voice where the subject performs the action of the verb.

The article was written by Meryl. [passive]
Meryl wrote the article. [active]

I vote for the second sentence. It's crisp.

In this day and age long phrases don't cut it anymore. I read somewhere comparing online reading to a quick shower as opposed to newspaper-reading to be enjoyed like a long, hot bath. It hit home. I'm infamous for starting each morning with a cup of coffee and my newspaper. With every sip, I slowly devour each page of the newspaper. After I finish reading the paper, I turn on the computer and quickly surf pages to get updates.

Go back to the first sentence in the previous paragraph. That phrase of five words could be dumped for one word: "today." Same meaning, isn't it?

There are many online examples on cutting wordiness and wordy phrases. Search for "eliminating wordiness" and you should find plenty of examples.

Time to edit this article and reduce wordiness. Of course, I'll leave the examples for your learning pleasure.

Meryl K. Evans, Content Maven, is Editor-in-Chief of eNewsletter Journal and The Remediator Security Digest. She's a slave to a MarketingProfs weekly column and a Web design reference guide at InformIT. She is the author of the popular e-report, How to Start a Business Blog and Build Traffic. Visit her site at http://www.meryl.net/blog/ for free newsletters, articles, and tips.

family-safe home cleaners Morton Grove ..

In The News:

The Christmas season brings a surge in Netflix phishing scams targeting shoppers with fake emails. Stacey P received convincing scam but verified account first.

San Francisco Giants invite Jamie Grohsong to throw ceremonial first pitch at Oracle Park after he learned to play baseball with a bionic hand following an injury.

FBI warns cybercriminals are stealing family photos from social media to create fake proof of life images in virtual kidnapping scams targeting victims.

Instagram's new 'Your Algorithm' tool lets you control your Reels feed in real time. The app now gives you power to customize what videos you see.

Major Marquis fintech breach exposes 400,000-plus Americans' data through unpatched SonicWall vulnerability, with Texas hardest hit at 354,000 affected.

Free up iPhone storage fast by clearing large photos and videos from Messages app. Simple steps for iOS users to delete attachments without losing chats.

Scammers are flooding inboxes with fake tracking alerts that mimic real carriers, exploiting the holiday rush to steal logins and personal data.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest news on AI technology advancements and the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Texas family reunites with missing 11-year-old cat Grayson after 103 days using Petco Love Lost's AI photo matching technology and community help.

Tired of AI customer service loops? These insider tricks help you escape "frustration AI" and get real human help when you need it most for urgent issues.

Unlock richer audio from your streaming apps with simple tweaks to volume normalization, equalizer settings, and quality preferences for cleaner sound.

Scammers are sending fake Facebook settlement payout emails that mimic legitimate notices from the privacy settlement administrator to deceive users.

Holiday shopping scams surge as fake refund emails target distracted consumers during Black Friday and holiday seasons, costing Americans billions annually.

The AI-powered IRMO M1 exoskeleton features four modes, including turbo, eco, training and rest for hiking, running, cycling and sports with eight-hour battery life.

OpenAI announced upgrades for its ChatGPT Images platform on Tuesday, saying the program can now make more precise edits and produce images more quickly.

Chrome for Android now turns web articles into AI-powered podcast conversations. Get hands-free browsing with Google Gemini's natural audio summaries.

LastPass faces $1.6 million fine from U.K. regulators after 2022 data breach exposed 1.6 million users. Password manager failed proper security controls.

Petco disclosed a data breach exposing customer Social Security numbers, financial account details, and driver's license information due to a software error.

Baseball teams can now analyze complete swing mechanics in normal training environments using Theia's markerless AI system that processes standard high-speed footage.

Smart home hacking fears overblown? Expert reveals real cybersecurity risks and simple protection tips to keep your connected devices safe from hackers.

MIT develops needle-free glucose monitor using light technology. Revolutionary device could replace painful finger pricks for diabetes management.

The ClickFix campaign disguises malware as legitimate Windows updates, using steganography to hide shellcode in PNG files and bypass security detection systems.

Researchers from Osaka Metropolitan University designed a 21-foot dome that combines aquaculture and hydroponics to create a self-sustaining urban food system.

The Fox News AI Newsletter gives readers the latest AI technology advancements, covering the challenges and opportunities AI presents.

ChatGPT data breach exposes personal info of users through partner Mixpanel. OpenAI confirms names, emails compromised in security incident.