People hear the word print and immediately think words.  Words can be the last thing your printed document needs.  Please!  Spare your readers more words, they’re drowning in a sea of words already! Getting rid of the words and getting to the point will make your documents more powerful and more useful to your readers.

1.            Use Your Headlines

Limit the amount of words you need to use to make your point by writing crisp, benefit focused headlines.  Your reader will remember what is in the short headline much more readily then they will the paragraph that follows.  Case in point, you have no idea what I just said, but you’ll remember to “Use Your Headlines.”

Write headlines that are short, powerful and focused on the reader’s benefit.  Don’t write headlines that say, “Sample Headline”.  Write a headline that says, “Write Pithy Headlines to Make the Most Impact.”

2.            Pop Key Point Text with Color and Font

Write fewer words and make the words you do write have impact by popping a select portion of your text that makes your key point with color and font changes.  Please, no Rainbow Brite style formatting here, we don’t need full color copies, just emphasize the key bits to make your point!

When using black text, write your key point in bold and red.  They will stand out and leave an impression on the reader, which means you will need less supporting text in the document.

3.            Eliminate the Fluff

Every written document has extra words in it that just do not need to be there.  If you are writing a document as a sales piece an informational piece or a piece not intended to be “creative writing”, then fewer words are better.  After you write your document, let it sit for a few hours, then go back and remove all of the extra words you used to make your point.  Think of it like coffee, the more you filter out the grounds, the finer the flavor of the final product.  Eliminate adjectives, adverbs, duplicate sentences etc...

After writing your document, come back to it after a few hours and cut as many words as you can.

4.            Say it With a Picture

Dump the words where you can in favor a great picture, graph or chart that imparts the message you are trying to get across.  No need to pay Angelia Jolie for a photo shoot here, a relevant picture is better than a flashy one.  People are more likely to look closely at images than at words and they are definitely more likely to remember a picture.

Look for every opportunity to replace text with images.  For example, instead of writing about percentages, show a graph that demonstrates your point.

5.            The Elevator Pitch Rule

Finally, the easiest way to know if you have too much text and not enough substance is to try and read your printed document to someone during an elevator ride.  If you can finish it, you get a gold star.  If you cannot finish it without having to hold the close door button in for an eternity, then you have too much text. If you have to push the “Emergency Stop” button and hold the poor person hostage until he’s sweating and crying, you should review #3.

Imagine every document you write has to be read or understood during an average elevator ride.  If it can’t, go back and cut some words.  Keep only the things you would say to the person who only has an elevator ride to listen to you.

Five Quick Things to Do to Reduce the Text on Your Document

1.Write headlines that are short, powerful and focused on the reader’s benefit.  Don’t write headlines that say, “Sample Headline”.  Write a headline that says, “Write Pithy Headlines to Make the Most Impact.”

2.When using black text, write your key point in boldandred.  They will stand out and leave an impression on the reader, which means you will need less supporting text in the document.

3.After writing your document, come back to it after a few hours and cut as many words as you can.

4.Look for every opportunity to replace text with images.  For example, instead of writing about percentages, show a graph that demonstrates your point.

5.Imagine every document you write has to be read or understood during an average elevator ride.  If it can’t go back and cut some words.Keep only the things you would say to the person who only has an elevator ride to listen to you.