Have you been toying with the idea of writing a blog or articles and experiencing some trepidation? Or maybe you’re already an author and want to raise your performance levels. Building your articles and blogs to appeal to the various ways your readers’ brains are wired will give you the “razor’s edge.” The following practical neuroscience principles and methods will help you get started on your authoring journey, improve your communication skills, and attract more followers. This applies regardless of whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional.
1. Be passionate about your topic
Passion for your subject keeps you motivated, focused, and engaged. Your brain likes to receive rewards and benefits from what it does. Establish the benefits of authorship for yourself Y your audience The desire to share and expand your knowledge, added to helping others improve their quality of life, is the best scenario for all parties. The commitment to quality authorship is a two-sided coin; As you learn and grow, your readers benefit too.
2. Focus on readers’ interests, not yours
Your readers are drawn to topics they care about and authors who have their best interests in mind. Sticking to your experience and core competencies will build confidence and trust. They, like you, want value for the time they spend learning and educating themselves. The following questions will help you stay on track:
- Am I focusing on the reader’s needs or mine?
- Would I like to read this article?
- Are there helpful application ideas and action steps for my reader?
3. Construct your article to reach all sensory and cognitive processing styles
Approximately 57% of their audience has Kinesthetic as their top sensory preference; they like to “do” and typically have short attention spans to sit and read long articles. Visual learners make up 34% of people; they pay attention to graphics, design, and how things look. The remaining 9% are auditory learners; they process the meaning of words and reproduce them internally to make sense of them.
The other half of the learning equation is how people prefer to process and think about sensory information. Approximately 60% of the population leans towards sequential thinking; they are attracted to logic, order, organization, realism, practicality, and content. Global thinkers make up the remaining 40% of their audience; they are imaginative and like to jump around looking for patterns, ideas and possibilities.
Given your audience’s diverse preferences for receiving and processing information, the following practical neuroscience techniques will help you write more engaging and effective articles.
- Use graphic images: Images should be on topic, colorful and interesting. This will appeal to almost everyone, particularly visual learners.
- Keep your article in the 400-800 word range: Short articles help you focus on the key points; they are faster to read, especially for kinesthetic learners.
- Ask someone to edit your articles: Editing acts as a quality control check on readability, layout, and grammar. This improves your credibility with auditory/visual learners and sequential thinkers.
- Use key points with minimal text: Bold bullet points will appeal to just about anyone, providing context, order, and content. This approach appeals to kinesthetic learners interested in spending a minimum of time reading; Visual learners look for what appeals to them; Auditory learners get the meaning of key words and related text; Global thinkers get the “big picture”; and sequential thinkers will look for the facts and logic behind the keywords.
In conclusion, anyone with a passion for a topic can successfully communicate their wisdom and expertise to the general public, particularly with the use of these practical neuroscience techniques. Constructing your articles and blogs to appeal to the various ways your audience’s brains are wired to receive information gives you the “razor’s edge.”
