Writing for eye vs writing for

ear

SOME GUIDELINES
People don't write the way they talk.

In some ways, writing for the ear requires the same
skills as any other format.

 The ABCs -- Accuracy, Brevity, and Clarity --

always mark quality writing.

 Although most of us learn not to move our lips as

we read, we still "hear" ourselves reading in our
heads, and so things like rhythm and rhyme and
alliteration always matter.
When you write for the ear, you must remember
one important fact:

 Listeners don't get a second chance!

READERS who don't understand something can

go back and read it again.

LISTENERS can't. Listeners must understand your

words the first time, or they're gone forever into the
air!
Speeches, radio copy, commercials --
anything that ultimately aims at an audience
who will hear the final version rather than read
it -- have some unique requirements.

Because you are writing material someone

else will read out loud to the final audience,
keep this baker's dozen of suggestions in
mind when you're writing for the ear.
WRITE LIKE YOU TALK.
Well, almost like you talk. No Yesterday, following a
swearing, please.
luncheon, the Mayor
 listen to announcers and delivered an address to
news people on radio and TV the student body.
and you'll notice something:
the best ones sound like
they're just TALKING to you, or
not READING to you.

So if you write something The Mayor talked to

that "sounds" like you're the students yesterday
reading it when you say it
aloud - then it's wrong. For after lunch
example, read aloud the two
sentences to the right.

Which one sounds more like

people talk?
USE "YOU" AND "I" FORMS OF VERBS.
Casual writing for the eye also uses these
constructions, but business and academic writers
sometimes strive for a more objective sound by
using third person constructions (he, she, it, they,
or the stuffier "one").

One shouldn't create such distance between

oneself and one's readers.

You see the problem when you're reading it. It's

much worse for your listeners.
KEEP SENTENCES SHORT.
It's better to write two simple
sentences than one long,
complicated sentence. It's hard for
listeners to recall at the end of a
long sentence what you said at the
beginning. And remember: they
can't go back and re-read the
sentence.
Avoid compound or complex
sentences. Remember the
structure from early composition
classes: SVO -- subject-verb-
object.
 To the right is a sentence that's
too long for the ear. Then it's
followed by a better way to write
the same information for a listener
by making it into 4 short
sentences.
My grandmother, who came to
America when she was a little
girl, told me yesterday that she
still remembers the first time she
saw the Statue of Liberty, which
she said made her cry, but I'm not
sure why.
Or
My grandmother came to
America when she was a little
girl. Yesterday she told me she
still remembers the first time she
saw the Statue of Liberty. She said
it made her cry. But I'm not sure
why.
DON'T USE BIG WORDS WHEN
SMALL ONES WILL DO.
It's good to keep learning new
words and developing your
vocabulary.
But it's clearer for listeners if chocolate works just as
you use simple words rather
than big ones.
Use simple language. Don't
say "e.g."; say "for example",
and make it a separate
sentence instead of a
parenthetical statement.
To the right are two examples
of how to make something
simpler by using smaller words.
Cathy declared she really
liked chocolate. Cathy
"said" she really liked
well as the big word
"declared.“
or
Gene attempted to
purchase a new camera.
"Attempted to purchase"
uses big words. It's
simpler to say he "tried to
buy" a new camera.
USE CONTRACTIONS. I've is a contraction for
The way people talk I have.
is filled with
contractions like those It's is a contraction for
to the right. it is.

Contractions sound We'll is a contraction

like people talk. So use for we will
them when writing for
the ear.
USE ACTIVE VERBS.
In the English language, there are The boy was hit by
"active" verbs and "passive" verbs. the car.
Active verbs are better for listeners.
They are clearer, more direct, and Or
easier to understand.

 For example, to the right is a The car hit the boy.

sentence with a passive verb, "was
hit”
Who did the action? The car. What
did it do? It hit. Who did it hit? The
boy.

 So it would be much easier for a

listener to understand if you just said
it more directly. Like the sentence to
the right. It's short and direct.
WATCH OUT FOR "SOUNDALIKES".
These are words that readers Yesterday the Yankees
can SEE are different, but won their game and
listeners might be confused. For the Mets won two.
example, read aloud the sentence
at right.

How would a listener know if

the last word was "two" or "too?"

Be careful of "soundalikes" or

your writing might look good on
the page, but sound wrong on the
radio.
READ YOUR WORDS ALOUD.
That's the only way to hear how
your words sound. Sarah sold her
seashells
When you read aloud you can hear
slowly
problems that your eye doesn't notice,
like sentences that are too long, or Saturday.
tongue-twisters like the one to the
right.

An even better idea is to tape

record yourself to hear how you
sound.

Remember, what you LOOK LIKE

on the radio is not important. How you
SOUND is!
MARK UP YOUR SCRIPT
Whatever you write to read aloud is a script.

 In every sentence you write, there are some words you

want to emphasize by saying them louder or with more
energy.

Professional announcers and news reporters underline

those words so they'll remember.

And they make other marks on the script to remember

where they want to pause, or where they might need to
take a breath.

Try "marking up" your writing too. It'll help you

remember how you want to sound when you read aloud.
PARAPHRASE MORE, QUOTE LESS.
A speaker has trouble indicating a direct quote
without pecking the air with the first two fingers of
each hand.

Radio broadcasters don't even have that option.

Attribution is also harder. When you use a direct

quote, give the attribution at the beginning of the
sentence.

For example, instead of writing your quote,

followed by "John Smith, Article Title, 2004", write,
"As John Smith noted in his 2004 article... (title)," and
then follow it with your quote.
ROUND OFF AND "VERBALIZE" STATISTICS.
Rather than saying, "This year's city budget will run
$286,726,090,”say, "This year's city budget calls for nearly
three hundred million dollars.“

SPELL OUT NUMBERS.

 Speakers really should look at their copy before they
deliver it, but many don't.

Spelling numbers out helps keep them from stumbling, and

also helps make sure the number gets reported accurately.
MAKE YOUR STRUCTURE CLEAR.
You can develop a story for the eye in a fairly
complex way, even using typographic conventions
to indicate things such as flashbacks.

Listeners have few such cues.

 "Signposting" (e.g., "Today we'll consider three

reasons to buy a new car. First ... second ...
third ...") helps them keep track of the talk,
understand the structure, and remember the main
points.
POLISH BOTH THE INTRODUCTION AND
THE CONCLUSION.
 If
you learned to write in journalistic inverted-
pyramid style, break the habit for the ear.

Listeners remember the first and last thing they

hear more than anything in the middle.

Beginning speech writers tend to work hard on the

main message and tack on introductions and
conclusions as afterthoughts.

Remember: people don't talk the way they write.