15 December 2011
Image by Arthur Chapman
In the last post we talked about using conjunctions as transitional ‘GPS devices’ to use in your writing.
Today we’ll look at three other types of transitions, a very small sampling of the many written ‘GPS devices’ you can use to guide readers through a text.
Type 1: the intriguing statement
Intriguing statements catch your attention because they’re fascinating. They raise questions in your mind that you hope the rest of the text will answer. The result? You keep reading.
They’re like the road sign in the picture above. If I were driving down the road and saw a sign like that, it would definitely catch my attention. And the first thing that would cross my mind would be the question, ‘What does that mean!?’ (By the way, the sign indicates that buffaloes are in the area – and if you hit one with your car, guess what will be more damaged?)
We often see intriguing statements at the beginning of novels. But you can also use them in business situations.
Here are some examples of intriguing statements. (What questions do they raise in your mind?)
§ Imagine a way to expand our client base that doesn’t raise our costs.
§ With just a few minor changes, your performance will dramatically improve.
So use interesting statements at the beginning of a text to capture your readers’ attention and make them hungry to keep reading.
Type 2: the intriguing question
As with an intriguing statement, intriguing questions also cause you to stop and think. And if the topic is something you find interesting, you’ll keep reading.
Another benefit of asking questions at the beginning of a document (or speech) is that they cause readers to begin thinking about everything they already know about the subject. That in turn helps their brains to process and remember what follows.
Here are the same examples from above changed into intriguing questions.
§ Can you imagine expanding our client base without raising costs?
§ Do you believe that minor changes can make dramatic improvements to your performance?
To get a reader to think about the subject of your document before you give all the ‘answers’, start by asking a question.
Type 3: repeated words or concepts
Repetition is a very powerful rhetorical device, one of many ways to emphasize an important point you want someone to remember.
Perhaps the most famous example of repetition is the 1963 ‘I have a dream’ speech delivered by Martin Luther King Jr, in which he repeated the statement ‘I have a dream’ eight times. Nobody who hears (or even reads) that speech gets tired of hearing that statement. Having your dreams come true doesn’t happen often. Repeating ‘I have a dream’ so many times emphasized just how difficult it would be to see a reversal of the injustices blacks in 1960s America were experiencing.
Three seems to be the most common number of repetitions. In spoken and written texts alike, we often hear or read the main points three times – in the introduction, middle and conclusion. But even within a single paragraph, you can repeat a key concept (without getting boring).
Change or die. Change is required to handle evolving market conditions. We must change our marketing mix to appeal to all customer sectors. We must change our methods of developing staff to deliver more flexible training solutions. We must change our attitudes to deal with the realities of business in the 21st century. It’s a matter of life or death for this company.