Distractions make you dumb

Did you know your IQ drops when you’re distracted?

In 80 clinical trials, Dr. Glenn Wilson, a psychiatrist at King’s College London University, found the IQ of those who tried to juggle messages and work fell by 10 points — the equivalent to missing a whole night’s sleep, and more than double the 4-point fall seen after smoking pot.

So if you’re constantly interrupted while writing something important, watch out — your end result will be AS IF it was written by someone about 10% dumber. Not a good look.

Here’s how some companies around the world minimise distractions. Some rely on setting up guidelines and getting agreement in advance (including agreeing not to use the method 10 hours a day!).

Technology

• Turn off phones; let callers leave messages. Explain in your voicemail message that you’ll get back to them by X time.
• Turn off email, or at least the audible and visible notifications of new emails. (To do that, do the opposite of what you read here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook/HP052428161033.aspx)
• Set up an email autoresponder that reassures senders you got their email, and will respond by X time.

People

• Give all staff a sign they can display when they don’t want to be interrupted (e.g. “Please don’t disturb”), or a red “thinking” cap that, if worn, shows they’re trying to focus.
• Tell team members they’re not to interrupt anyone wearing earphones (e.g. iPods).
• Ask your team not to interrupt you for a certain period every day, say, from 8-9 a.m.
• Go into work early, stay late, or work from home or a café.

You

• Unclutter your desk so you’re not tempted to start multitasking.
• Close distracting apps, like Facebook and Twitter.
• Set mini goals and rewards, e.g. to write at least a page before stopping for a coffee.

More?

What works for you? Please share your wisdom with the rest of us in the comments below. We’d love to be distracted by it…

• Close distracting apps, like Facebook and Twitter.

Using Google to write right

Believe it or not, Google can improve your writing.

A trainee on one of my courses asked me a tricky question recently: Should an apostrophe be used in this phrase or not?

“one night’s accommodation”

i.e. does the night “own” the accommodation?

What if it was plural, as in “five nights accommodation”?

Do you know the answer? If you aren’t sure, and want to do a quick ‘n’ dirty check, try Google.

The trick
Just Google both options, using inverted commas (” “) around your search phrase, to see which gets the highest results. So you’d first search for “one nights accommodation” (26,000 hits), then “one night’s accommodation” (114,000 hits). Clearly the latter is the most used version, and, as it happens, is correct.

But now try the plural version: “five nights accommodation” (8,000 hits) vs. “five night’s accommodation” (112 hits). Again, a resounding win for the former, this time without the apostrophe. And it’s correct. [Source: Aust. Govt Style Manual, 6th edition.]

The exception
The only caveat is that the number of Google hits must be wildly different. If similar, don’t trust them; look it up elsewhere. For example, “two night’s accommodation” yields 64,000 hits, while “two nights accommodation” gets fewer hits, 61,000, yet is correct.

This method isn’t foolproof (because a lot of fools write badly on the Web), but it is a quick way to double check your hunch. And if American vs. British spellings cause problems, use the country-specific version of Google, e.g. www.google.co.uk.

Got any other tips you’d like to share? Comment away!

Better reading = better writing

One of the most powerful ways to improve your writing has nothing to do with writing: Read a lot.

Then when you sit down to write, the right words, rhythm and phrasings will come more easily — as long as you’re reading “quality” information, not just other people’s badly written emails!

(And besides being good brain food, “Readers are leaders.”)

No time to read more? Say hello to Spreeder.

I first heard of this technique years ago. Apparently the military developed it to help their soldiers read thick instruction manuals quickly.

It works by flashing up groups of words. Instead of having to scan lines, you just stare at a spot. Try it: http://www.spreeder.com/index.php

Click on the down-arrow to change the settings. Try reading a long email at 600 words per minute, in groups of three words at a time. Then try increasing the speed and/or the word-group size.

With practice, your reading speed will improve, and so will your writing. And you’ll get more done!

Cnet also reviewed another variation of it: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17939_109-10004198-2.html

Would this help YOU? Do you get time these days to read more than just your emails? Join the conversation below…

Write or Die

Are you putting off your writing task?

Then this is just the ticket! Consider it your virtual writing coach, standing over you, MAKING you hammer out the words:

http://lab.drwicked.com/writeordie.html

The site explains how it works, but you’ll probably learn more by just playing with it. Type in your word and time goal, and click “Write!”

When finished, just copy/paste your text into your text editor. And say hello to productivity!

(If procrastination’s a problem for you, see also Procrastinator Terminator.)

One rule to rule them all

Apologies to “Lord of the Rings,” but you must know this principle. Use it, and your readers will say “My preciousss…” when reading your emails or letters. Forget it, and you’ll seem like Gollum on a bad day.

Here it is: Inverted Pyramid.

Or, “Big News First.”

The opposite of inverted pyramid is story structure. People love stories. But most business readers are time poor; they just want the main point, and fast. Write in story structure and your main character could be “delete.”

Stories follow “pyramid” structure, going from context, to supporting information, to climax (the “big news”).

But news journalists write with inverted-pyramid structure; they lead with the Big News First, then backfill with progressively less important information.

So if you write to your boss, explaining that your project is going well, don’t say this:

“Since we started XYZ project, we’ve had various financial, logistical and HR problems… [etc.] But we solved them, and the project’s going well and is on track.”

What if she’s too busy to get to the good news? She’ll just read the bad and think you’re struggling. So say the big news first, giving her the option of not reading it all if she’s swamped:

“XYZ project is on track to be completed within budget. We’ve overcome various financial, logistical and HR problems… [etc.]”

Apply Big News First to most things you write, and your readers will love you for saving them time.

Have your say…
…below! And to kick off the conversation: When shouldn’t you use inverted pyramid?

Is your writing “Old Style” or “New Skool”?

The Urban Dictionary defines “New Skool” as anything fresh and new that threatens the established way of thinking or doing. It’s the opposite of “Old School,” and can apply to your writing as much as how you dance, dress, or the music you enjoy.

I’m not talking about gettin’-jiggy-wit-da-homeboys language, but about a fresh style of writing that works best in modern business.

A quick guide to “New Skool”

NO: Long, complex sentences    YES: Simple and concise
NO: “Big word” syndrome    YES: Plain English
NO: It’s all about you (the writer)    YES: It’s all about them (the reader)
NO: Intro to conclusion    YES: Conclusion first, then fill in the the gaps
NO: Write to demonstrate intellect    YES: Write to solve a reader’s problem

Like to change your habits? Consider our public or in-house writing masterclasses.

Use the downturn to your advantage

While this blog is all about helping you write better, the underlying purpose of that is to help you and your business DO better.

So with that in mind, I thought you’d appreciate this article, from the latest Harvard Business Review.

It has some sound advice on not only surviving the downturn, but thriving in it. It’s only available for free during Feb. 2009, so jump to it: http://hbr.harvardbusiness.org/2009/02/seize-advantage-in-a-downturn/ar/1

Don’t syphon the hyphen

It seems major newspaper editors aren’t immune from one of the most common errors I see from my corporate writing training students.

This was on the front page of today’s Daily Telegraph in Sydney:

Sydney's Daily Telegraph hyphen blunder

Can you see the problem? It’s confusing, because it’s unclear whether it’s saying two things,  “New risk” and “Free pill”, or one thing, “New risk-free pill”.

That tiny hyphen makes all the difference.

It’s called a “compound” adjective, because the two words must be combined to get the intended meaning.

Here’s another example, from our “Get it Write” professional writing masterclass:

1. small business advisor
2. small-business advisor

In 1, the business advisor could be a dwarf. But with the hyphen in 2, it now means the person is an advisor to small business.

So watch your hyphens; they can really change your meaning and confuse your readers.

And whatever you do, don’t use a hyphen (-) when you really mean to use a dash (—). Here’s an easy explanation of the difference between hyphens and dashes.

Heart Attack

In any persuasive writing you need to proactively deal with objections.What makes this UK public health ad so engaging and convincing is how well they cover people’s likely objections to getting help because they doubt they’re having a heart attack.

Happ-e Xmas!

We put a lot of thought and work into this Christmas present for you. Hope you like it!

Here it is. Click the image and it’ll load (turn your speakers down if you don’t want sound):

Happ-e Xmas from Magneto

Enjoy!

Have a safe and happy Christmas break.

From Paul, Petrina and the Magneto team

P.S. If the image doesn’t work, here’s the link: http://www.magneto.net.au/Happ-e_Xmas_2008.html