Read it out loud

Communicate better by writing for the ear

Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.com

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my Heart Radio.
Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to become a better writer by reading
what you write out loud before sharing it. I've always
loved to write, and so I was really lucky that

(00:24):
my first job after college was a year long internship
at USA Today. I worked on the op ed page,
mostly fact checking and helping with layout. The biggest upside
was that I worked for some very encouraging editors. When
I expressed interest in writing op eds, they did not
immediately shoot down the idea of a twenty three year

(00:44):
old intern doing such a thing. They helped me work
on my writing, and over the course of the year
I got several essays published. With everything I wrote, I
used some of the best writing advice I ever got,
and this came from one of my editors there. She
said it, I think in passing. You know, Laura, when
people are reading things silently in their heads, they're still

(01:07):
hearing the words as if they're spoken, So you need
to write as if your words are being read out loud.
I realized immediately how brilliant this was, because it's true.
Next time you're reading something, notice how you're processing it.
You probably hear the words even if you're reading silently.

(01:29):
That means that things are more pleasant for the brain
when they're more pleasant for the ear. You can use
this to your advantage. You can make your writing more
appealing by reading anything of consequence out loud before you
publish it. This step of reading out loud will do
several good things. First, you'll write tighter, because wordy sentences

(01:51):
are hard to say. When you find yourself tripping over
a sentence, that's a sign that editing would help. Second,
you'll vary your sentence length. If you've ever heard a
really good preacher, you know that sermons often feature a
few short sentences with parallel structure, punctuated by longer ones.

(02:14):
The preacher chooses this rhythm because it's appealing even for
difficult truths. You want people to say that about your writing, too. Finally,
you'll end your sentences strong. In general, single syllable words
provide the most satisfactory conclusion to a phrase. I don't

(02:34):
know why this is, I do know it's true. You
don't have to always honor this truth, but your writing
will read better when you can now I will admit
that I don't read my emails about next week's schedule
out loud. Some writing is purely utilitarian, but with the
growth of audio books and podcasts, writing for the ear

(02:57):
has turned out to be a useful skill. Given how
much bad writing is out there, Anything that makes your
writing stand out can give you an advantage. So if
you're writing something of consequence, take a few extra minutes
to read it out loud and adjust your words to
make them sound better. People might not know why they

(03:19):
like reading what you've written, but I promise you that
they will in the meantime. This is Laura. Thanks for listening,
and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

(03:39):
your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
that's b the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
podcast at iHeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is

(03:59):
spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I
look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a
production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from I
Heart Radio, visit the I heart Radio app, Apple podcasts,
or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.