CAPTURE AUDIENCES IN FIFTEEN WORDS OR LESS
My Strategy for Demanding Attention
START FROM THE MIDDLE
Satisfaction is completing a puzzle. Sprinkle obfuscation between the facts and turn readers into detectives on a mission to uncover the truth. Don’t share the plot, share the story.
REMIX YOUR ADJECTIVES
Whip out a thesaurus, exterminate underpowered descriptors for infectious words. Weak adjectives make weak writers. Swap “lots”, “many”, and “some” with specific adjectives phrases that match the vibe. Describing a very full restaurant? Tell it from a new perspective… “The door groaned in protest as another elbow impatiently forced it ajar. Even the cool evening air wanted a table at Quiznos on 5th Street that opening night.”
DID ANYONE ASK?
Respect your audience. Respect their time. Destroy your first draft; writing succinctly, personably, and coherently takes effort. Write your whole truth, then scrap it, then write it again. True audiences respect your grind, show them how hard you’ve worked for this moment.
SHOW DON’T TELL
“His eyes were tired” is boring. Replace it with “James collapsed to the ground as exhaustion tugged on every fold of his scant frame.” Yes, there are more words and now there is more substance - more story.
KILL YOUR PREACHER
Share enthusiasm. Be evocative and stir emotions in your audience. Dissenting audiences are engaged audiences! I count on people to tell me when I’m wrong; I’ve learned being polite hinders my writing.
YOU’RE TOO HUMBLE - WRITE IT LIKE IT’S FICTION
Write boring? Be boring. Write interesting? Be interesting. My life is unique, but I’ve grown accustomed to it. What exhilarates you may bore me, but that’s something for us to discover together. Often, my ideas don’t resonate. I cherish my failures and interrogate my successes. Being teachable feels compromising when you’re under attack, but remember that introspection is free. Just keep writing, it’s going to be ok.
I’M SORRY + EPILOGUE
My title promised a surefire way to success. I lied to you. It’s taken 300 words to get here. But you’re here, so something worked. There’s no silver bullet to being interesting. There’s only you. Invest in yourself, improve yourself, and love yourself. My best intros have strong opinions, powerful adjectives, personable word choices, and old-fashioned storytelling. Offer your reader a promise and a journey - then deliver.