<aside> <img src="https://prod-files-secure.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/67518e45-4db4-49a2-b993-50b1c1778e30/331ec0c9-37bb-4413-9af7-1417c6708524/light-bulb_1f4a1.png" alt="https://prod-files-secure.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/67518e45-4db4-49a2-b993-50b1c1778e30/331ec0c9-37bb-4413-9af7-1417c6708524/light-bulb_1f4a1.png" width="40px" /> Words and Definitions: Match the words below with their definitions.
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innate
to be nested
robustly
vivid
affinity
to inject
to savor
payoff
a) very brightly colored
b) to enjoy food or an experience slowly, in order to appreciate it as much as possible
c) to put a piece of information, text, etc. inside another, or at a lower lever in a system
d) a liking or sympathy for someone or something, especially because of shared characteristics
e) a result that rewards you for your effort or work
f) in a determined way
g) to add something to the organization, conversation, or exchange
h) quality or ability is one that you were born with, not one you have learned
Strong writing skills are essential for anyone in business. You need them to effectively communicate with colleagues, employees, and bosses and to sell any ideas, products, or services you’re offering.
Many people, especially in the corporate world, think good writing is an art—and that those who do it well have an innate talent they’ve nurtured through experience, intuition, and a habit of reading often and widely. But every day we’re learning more about the science of good writing. Advances in neurobiology and psychology show, with data and in images, exactly how the brain responds to words, phrases, and stories. And the criteria for making better writing choices are more objective than you might think.
The magic happens when prose has one or more of these characteristics: It’s simple, specific, surprising, stirring, seductive, social, or story-driven.
to nurture= вынашивать
stirring= волнительный
seductive= соблазнительный
“Keep it simple.” This classic piece of writing advice stands on the most basic neuroscience research. Simplicity increases what scientists call the brain’s “processing fluency.” Short sentences, familiar words, and clean syntax ensure that the reader doesn’t have to exert too much brainpower to understand your meaning.
By contrast, studies have shown that sentences with clauses nested in the middle take longer to read and cause more comprehension mistakes. Ditto for most sentences in the passive voice. If you write “Profits are loved by investors,” for example, instead of “Investors love profits,” you’re switching the standard positions of the verb and the direct object. That can cut comprehension accuracy by 10% and take a tenth of a second longer to read.
Even more noteworthy: Humans learn from experience that simpler explanations are not always right, but they usually are. Andrey Kolmogorov, a Russian mathematician, proved decades ago that people infer that simpler patterns yield better predictions, explanations, and decisions. That means you’re more persuasive when you reduce overdressed ideas to their naked state.
comprehension= понимание
ditto= то же самое
to yield= приносить результат, давать, производить
<aside> <img src="https://prod-files-secure.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/67518e45-4db4-49a2-b993-50b1c1778e30/269f15d0-41d6-45d7-a1d0-bc6e76ae07c6/light-bulb_1f4a1.png" alt="https://prod-files-secure.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com/67518e45-4db4-49a2-b993-50b1c1778e30/269f15d0-41d6-45d7-a1d0-bc6e76ae07c6/light-bulb_1f4a1.png" width="40px" /> Cutting extraneous words and using the active voice are two ways to keep it simple.
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Specifics awaken a swath of brain circuits. Think of “pelican” versus “bird.” Or “wipe” versus “clean.” In one study, the more-specific words in those pairs activated more neurons in the visual and motor-strip parts of the brain than did the general ones, which means they caused the brain to process meaning more robustly.
Years ago scientists thought our brains decoded words as symbols. Now we understand that our neurons actually “embody” what the words mean: When we hear more-specific ones, we “taste,” “feel,” and “see” traces of the real thing.
Using more vivid, palpable language will reward your readers. In a recent letter to shareholders, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos didn’t say, “We’re facing strong competition.” Channeling Tettamanti’s research, he wrote, “Third-party sellers are kicking our first-party butt. Badly.”
swath= ряд
palpable= осязаемый, ощутимый
to kick butt= надрать задницу
Another specificity tactic is to give readers a memorable shorthand phrase to help them retain your message.
Our brains are wired to make nonstop predictions, including guessing the next word in every line of text. If your writing confirms the readers’ guess, that’s OK, though possibly a yawner. Surprise can make your message stick, helping readers learn and retain information.
Jean-Louis Dessalles, a researcher in artificial intelligence and cognitive science at Télécom Paris, conducted an experiment that demonstrated people’s affinity for the unexpected. He asked participants to read short, unfinished narratives and consider different possible endings for each. For 17 of 18 stories, the vast majority of people preferred the most unexpected ending. They didn’t want a story that fulfilled their predictions.
to make your message stick= сделать твой посыл запоминающимся
to stick to habit/with idea= придерживаться
to be wired= быть настроенным/запрограммированным делать что-то
yawner= зевака
to fulfill= осуществлять
You may think you’re more likely to persuade with logic, but no. Our brains process the emotional connotations of a word within 200 milliseconds of reading it—much faster than we understand its meaning. So when we read emotionally charged material, we reflexively react with feelings—fear, joy, awe, disgust, and so forth—because our brains have been trained since hunter-gatherer times to respond that way. Reason follows. We then combine the immediate feeling and subsequent thought to create meaning.
How sensitive are we to emotion? Experiments show that when people hear a list of words, they often miss a few as a result of “attentional blinks” caused by limits in our brain processing power. But we don’t miss the emotionally significant words. With those there are no blinks.
So when you write your next memo, consider injecting words that package feeling and thought together. Instead of saying “challenge the competition,” you might use “outwit rivals.” In lieu of “promote innovation,” try “prize ingenuity.” Canadian researchers Andrea Bowes and Albert Katz tested phrases like “What a very good idea!” and “Be careful what you say” against more-evocative expressions like “What a gem of an idea!” and “Watch your back.” Readers reacted more strongly to the latter.
Just a small touch can drive the neural circuits for emotion. So before you start composing, get your feelings straight, along with your facts. And if you express your emotion, readers will feel it.
