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Abstract

any people are you usually writing for? Your teacher and some peers maybe? If you must present your paper as a speech or read it aloud, you might write it for 30–100 people in a big lecture setting.And even out of those 30–100 people, maybe 3–10 people are interested in your topic if it relates directly to them. Rarely will you ever engage the attention of the entire room.Even if you are doing a scholarly presentation to a group of scholars, they are probably not thinking about how academic your writing is. They just want to know the key points and go on to the next presentation.If you want to write for a large audience, say 2500 and anywhere up to 1 million + people, how do you get their attention? And more importantly, if you are writing to them for the sake of selling them something, how do you keep their attention?Even fiction writers can apply the skills in this article.<h1 id="d281">Hook, Then Here’s What You Do</h1>If you’re interested in writing in any way, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the importance of a hook or headline. That will get their attention, but then you need to keep the attention of as many people who are interested in what you have to offer as possible.And as you might notice in school lectures, even respected teachers can’t hold an audience’s attention indefinitely. Not because the professor or subject is not exciting, but because while learning, students get lost and do not understand the words that are coming out of the professor’s mouth.This can happen in writing.So let us look at some hard facts right now.According to the PIAAC or Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competency, research done in 2013 showed that 88% had a reading level below the 8th-grade reading level.According to a website called The Hill which I don’t think they are a research organization, but their numbers seem to match other research I’ve done, in 1940 only 4.6% of the population in the USA said they had a college degree. In the article written in 2017, data says over 33.4% of Americans 25 and older have a college degree.So, rates in education are going up. And if you are writing in a “highly educated” fashion, or you are writing at above an 8th-grade reading level, you are potentially alienating 88% of the population! That is huge!And even if you were writing to the top 12%, they do not want to read a dull paper filled with words they have to look up every couple of pages. Plus, educated people do not like to feel like they don’t know something. But do not look at this as educated vs. not.I am creating awareness so you can communicate more effectively and clearly with more people than ever before.<h1 id="5673">Connect With More People Than Ever Before</h1>Whether you want to write an advertisement, magazine article, or your next novel, remembering these statistics might help if you want as many people to relate to your material as possible. So here is what you can do, this is where our FK score comes in.Most people have an idea of what it means to read at an 8th grade level, but here is how you can get closer to it.Someone invented something called

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the Flesch-Kincaid score which we’ve been calling the FK score and will continue to do so. Many word processors have tools available to help you measure the FK score. You can even find websites that will check the score for you.The FK score helps you write in a way that is easier to read. The smoother and more precise your words are, the more likely someone will continue reading what you have to say. And precision comes from simple words.Writing to large numbers of people does not need to be a demo of your vocab.While the FK score is not exact, it works like this. The higher the score, the higher the reading level of your writing. If your writing FK score is an 8, you could say anyone reading at an 8th grade level could understand your article. Therefore, if you write around an 8th grade reading level, you are reaching a much wider audience.But don’t take my word for it. You can try testing the FK score of some of your articles, research papers, and those of other writers. You will find that even many best-seller books stay under 10. Not all, but some.This doesn’t mean to let your vocabulary shine. Sometimes you need to show to other writers that you have more substance otherwise they won’t take you seriously. I’ve seen some writers keep it clear most of the time and throw in a few words you’ll need to look up once a while.You’ll find your own voice.<h1 id="fba8">Get Specific And Crush It!</h1>So far, we’ve discussed reaching a broad audience. Again, this is important if you want to write a best-selling book one day, or need lots of views and engages on your posts, or sell a lot of products!Here is where getting to know your audience comes in handy. Earlier, we mentioned learning the language of sub-cultures. And here is an example.If you want to reach an audience of cabinetmakers, you might want to write at an FK score of 8 or lower. From there, you would learn their language. You want to know what cabinet makers want and how they talk.You need to learn the types of wood that might turn them on. Or you might need to understand the sensation of what it’s like to sand and smooth the wood to describe in their words. Learn the types of drinks they enjoy, and the types of lives they live.Fishers might talk about hooks, baits, reels, and a cold one. Designers might have words like space, balance, hue, and texture. Molecular biologists might use terms like mitochondria, osmosis, and genetic splicing.And then put that into your literature.The FK score also works if you want to write for fiction. The FK score is even more important for fiction writers because when people read novels, they read for entertainment or pleasure most of the time. Keeping the language and sentence structures simple and easy to understand will help you entertain and please more of your audience — thereby helping you sell more books or products.The FK score of this article is 7.9.Best Wishes,EmmettP.S. If you find this article helpful, find more exclusive ideas by checking out <a href="https://mailchi.mp/theideatorjournal/newsletter">The Ideator Journal.</a></article></body>

Where Highly Educated Writers Fail

You can be successful in writing without a Ph.D. level vocabulary

After reading this article, you will learn about one of the industry secret writing tools that you didn’t even know was available. You’ll also find out why being overly educated can negatively affect your writing and your ability to connect with the majority. And when you are writing for advertising or marketing, the majority matters.

When I finally learned this, it blew my mind how much more effective my writing could be. And it wasn’t about producing a better story, having more imagery, knowing how to tug at people’s emotions better, or even knowing my customer better. It was a simple thing called the FK score.

Expand Your Circle

Experts writing to experts can sometimes become a brain weighing exercise to see whose is bigger. And maybe not out of competition, but out of expectation. Experts expect other experts to talk their talk and walk their walk.

Even if you’re not an expert, if someone speaks your native language, you suddenly have a bit of a connection. If you lived in any sort of sub-culture for any amount of time like surfing, acting, or even military, it isn’t just the experience that connects you, but the language as well. Listen to two computer geeks talk about their system or stylists about their craft, and you may as well be learning a different language.

We’re not talking about an entirely new foreign language. But almost every culture or group or organization of people has a certain vocabulary of words that they would understand, but “outsiders” may need more clarity.

A musician who does not know what andante, sharp, and bass clef means is not going to do well working with a group of musicians unless they work to learn their terms quickly.

When it comes to high education, there can be a problem when it comes to writing. It might come from knowledge plus years of writing for research or other scholars. Or it might arise from the fact that through education, you are now part of “educated groups,” and you’re expected to speak a certain way. I can’t say for sure.

But what could happen is that your habits develop which hinder success when writing for a larger audience.

Solve The Education Dilemma

What happens when you go to school and get a higher education? Most people typically start hanging out with other “higher education” people. You start writing for your peers and professors who are also highly educated. And you need to use fancy words most people have never heard of, and your vocabulary expands.

And here’s where it hurts if you want to write for marketing or a large audience.

Consider this. In school, how many people are you usually writing for? Your teacher and some peers maybe? If you must present your paper as a speech or read it aloud, you might write it for 30–100 people in a big lecture setting.

And even out of those 30–100 people, maybe 3–10 people are interested in your topic if it relates directly to them. Rarely will you ever engage the attention of the entire room.

Even if you are doing a scholarly presentation to a group of scholars, they are probably not thinking about how academic your writing is. They just want to know the key points and go on to the next presentation.

If you want to write for a large audience, say 2500 and anywhere up to 1 million + people, how do you get their attention? And more importantly, if you are writing to them for the sake of selling them something, how do you keep their attention?

Even fiction writers can apply the skills in this article.

Hook, Then Here’s What You Do

If you’re interested in writing in any way, you’ve undoubtedly heard about the importance of a hook or headline. That will get their attention, but then you need to keep the attention of as many people who are interested in what you have to offer as possible.

And as you might notice in school lectures, even respected teachers can’t hold an audience’s attention indefinitely. Not because the professor or subject is not exciting, but because while learning, students get lost and do not understand the words that are coming out of the professor’s mouth.

This can happen in writing.

So let us look at some hard facts right now.

According to the PIAAC or Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competency, research done in 2013 showed that 88% had a reading level below the 8th-grade reading level.

According to a website called The Hill which I don’t think they are a research organization, but their numbers seem to match other research I’ve done, in 1940 only 4.6% of the population in the USA said they had a college degree. In the article written in 2017, data says over 33.4% of Americans 25 and older have a college degree.

So, rates in education are going up. And if you are writing in a “highly educated” fashion, or you are writing at above an 8th-grade reading level, you are potentially alienating 88% of the population! That is huge!

And even if you were writing to the top 12%, they do not want to read a dull paper filled with words they have to look up every couple of pages. Plus, educated people do not like to feel like they don’t know something. But do not look at this as educated vs. not.

I am creating awareness so you can communicate more effectively and clearly with more people than ever before.

Connect With More People Than Ever Before

Whether you want to write an advertisement, magazine article, or your next novel, remembering these statistics might help if you want as many people to relate to your material as possible. So here is what you can do, this is where our FK score comes in.

Most people have an idea of what it means to read at an 8th grade level, but here is how you can get closer to it.

Someone invented something called the Flesch-Kincaid score which we’ve been calling the FK score and will continue to do so. Many word processors have tools available to help you measure the FK score. You can even find websites that will check the score for you.

The FK score helps you write in a way that is easier to read. The smoother and more precise your words are, the more likely someone will continue reading what you have to say. And precision comes from simple words.

Writing to large numbers of people does not need to be a demo of your vocab.

While the FK score is not exact, it works like this. The higher the score, the higher the reading level of your writing. If your writing FK score is an 8, you could say anyone reading at an 8th grade level could understand your article. Therefore, if you write around an 8th grade reading level, you are reaching a much wider audience.

But don’t take my word for it. You can try testing the FK score of some of your articles, research papers, and those of other writers. You will find that even many best-seller books stay under 10. Not all, but some.

This doesn’t mean to let your vocabulary shine. Sometimes you need to show to other writers that you have more substance otherwise they won’t take you seriously. I’ve seen some writers keep it clear most of the time and throw in a few words you’ll need to look up once a while.

You’ll find your own voice.

Get Specific And Crush It!

So far, we’ve discussed reaching a broad audience. Again, this is important if you want to write a best-selling book one day, or need lots of views and engages on your posts, or sell a lot of products!

Here is where getting to know your audience comes in handy. Earlier, we mentioned learning the language of sub-cultures. And here is an example.

If you want to reach an audience of cabinetmakers, you might want to write at an FK score of 8 or lower. From there, you would learn their language. You want to know what cabinet makers want and how they talk.

You need to learn the types of wood that might turn them on. Or you might need to understand the sensation of what it’s like to sand and smooth the wood to describe in their words. Learn the types of drinks they enjoy, and the types of lives they live.

Fishers might talk about hooks, baits, reels, and a cold one. Designers might have words like space, balance, hue, and texture. Molecular biologists might use terms like mitochondria, osmosis, and genetic splicing.

And then put that into your literature.

The FK score also works if you want to write for fiction. The FK score is even more important for fiction writers because when people read novels, they read for entertainment or pleasure most of the time. Keeping the language and sentence structures simple and easy to understand will help you entertain and please more of your audience — thereby helping you sell more books or products.

The FK score of this article is 7.9.

Best Wishes,

Emmett

P.S. If you find this article helpful, find more exclusive ideas by checking out The Ideator Journal.