You’ve mapped the information. You’ve designed the typography. You’ve designed, refined and tested your copy: Its engaging. It’s clear. It’s actionable. The only thing left to change is the size of the spaces. As it turns out, spaces size matters. This talk presents emerging reading comprehension research demonstrating when relative intra-word/intra-letter space size reflects psychologically relevant* groupings, readers read faster, retain more and report that they are more likely to act on what they have read. We provide clear and concrete examples of how this approach can be applied today to enhance the effectiveness and persuasiveness of your writing. * Linguists should be prepared to be a bit disappointed.

1. Reading
between
the
words...
Using
text
forma/ng
to
increase
persuasiveness
and
ac5onability
of
copy
Kath
Straub
1

2. Roadmap
1.
The
concept
2.
A
few
studies
3.
Why
technical
writers
might
care

3. TEXT FORMATTING MATTERS.
Text
forma6ng
ma7ers.

4. There are typographic formats
that (some) people “like.”
There are typographic formats
that help them perform better.

5. 8/31/2009
GOVERNOR RENDELL ORDERS STATE 8/31/2009
8/31/2009
FLAGS TO FLY AT HALF_STAFF IN HONOR Governor Rendell orders state flags to
Governor Rendell orders state flags to
OF FALLEN SOLDIERS fly at half-staff in honor of fallen soldier
fly at half-staff in honor of fallen soldier
8/31/2009 Governor Rendell offers adult basic coverage
Governor Rendell offers adult basic coverage
GOVERNOR RENDELL OFFERS ADULT to 35,000 uninsured pennsylvanians
to 35,000 uninsured pennsylvanians
BASIC COVERAGE TO 35,000 UNINSURED
PENSYLVANIANS 8/30/2009
8/30/2009
Governor Rendell orders says largest solar
Governor Rendell orders says largest solar
8/30/2009 power facility in eastern US will be built in
power facility in eastern US will be built in
GOVERNOR RENDELL ORDERS LARGEST Bucks County
Bucks County
SOLAR POWER FACILITY IN EASTERN US
WILL BE IN BUCKS COUNTY
To
tech
writers
forma6ng
means
typography.

6. Lorem ipsum, Dolor sit amet Lorem ipsum, Dolor sit amet Lorem ipsum, Dolor sit amet
consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam
nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet
dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi
enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci
tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut
aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis
vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in
velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel
eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero
accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui
praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue
dolore te feugait nulla facilisi.Ut wisi enim ad duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi.Ut wisi duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi.Ut wisi
minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci
ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut
ea commodo consequat. Wassanus plebus aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Wassanus aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Wassanus
deploribus unix. plebus deploribus unix. plebus deploribus unix.
To
tech
writers
forma6ng
means
jus<fica<on.

7. To
tech
writers
forma6ng
can
mean
layout.

8. When
I
say
forma6ng
(for
the
next
30
minutes),
I
mean
the
size
of
spaces
between
words
and
le7ers.

9. Eye movements
during reading
Corrective
movements

10. The
cogni*ve
burden
of
reading We
typically
don’t
even
think
1.
Track
to
the
right
next
line. about
this
cost.
2.
Keep
track
of
who
is
doing
what
to
whom.
We
recognize
this
cost
as
complexity
of
language.

11. The
horse
raced
past
the
barn
fell.
11

12. ,
Some*mes
,
commas
can
solve
the
problem.

13. The
horse,
raced
past
the
barn,
fell.
The
horse,
raced
past
the
barn,
fell.
OK,
some*mes,
commas
can
solve
the
problem.
Note
to
self:
This
example
serves
only
to
distract
Bri8sh
Technical
Writers
....

14. The
chauffeur
annoyed
the
man
with
the
cigar.
Who
has
the
cigar?

15. The
task
of
reading
1.
Find
the
right
next
line.
2.
Keep
track
of
who
is
doing
what
to
whom.
3.
Sort
out
(syntac*c)
ambigui*es.

16. Processing
space
is
limited
...
like
the
top
of
a
workbench.
If
we
format
text
so
that
it
take
less
(mental)
space
to
sort
out
who
is
doing
what
to
whom
...
we
have
more
space
to
understand
what
we
are
reading.” 16

17. For
example,
when
can
vary
space
size
between
words
to
reflect
their
(syntac*c)
grouping.
The
chauffeur
annoyed
the
man
with
the
cigar.
The
chauffeur
annoyed
the
man
with
the
cigar.

18. The
horse
raced
past
the
barn
fell.
The
horse
raced
past
the
barn
fell.
? ?
It
may
not
always
work
....

19. Readsmart
is
a
patented
text
forma6ng
algorithm
that
uses
linguis<cally
informed,
psychologically
validated
rules
to
vary
the
size
of
spaces
between
words
and
le7ers.
Read
smart
does
not
alter
your
font,
typography,
jus<fica<on
or
layout.

20. Example
rule

21. Example
rule

22. Study
1: !"#$%#&'()"*
Reading
Comprehension
People
read
faster
and
remember
more
when
they
are
reading
text
that
is
forma7ed
using
ReadSmart.
Reading Short Essays

23. !"#$%&$'()*
Study
2a-­‐e:
Direct
mail
donor
acquisi<on
4
studies
~390,000
households
People
read
respond
more
frequently
and
give
more
when
they
read
solicita<on
le7ers
that
are
forma7ed
with
ReadSmart.
Direct Mail Donor Acquisition

24. People
can’t
tell
that
text
has
been
ReadSmart
forma7ed.

25. Study3:
Email
Newsle7er 380
par<cipants
w.
opt-­‐in
post
exposure
survey
People
who
read
ReadSmarted
Essays
answered
comprehension
ques8ons
more
accurately
than
people
who
read
text
that
was
not
ReadSmarted...
on
7
out
of
7
ques8ons.
People
who
read
ReadSmarted
essays
reported
that
they
were
10%
more
likely
to
send
the
essay
on
to
a
friend.
This
work
was
done
while
I
was
s8ll
@
HFI.
A
more
complete
descrip8on
of
this
study
can
be
found
here:
hRp://www.slideshare.net/guest5e65b4/straub-­‐read-­‐smart-­‐findings-­‐plus-­‐example-­‐text

26. Why should tech writers care?
Most adult Americans read at about an
8th grade level or below
 Many read BELOW the 5th grade level
•1 out of 5 adults
•2 out of 5 older adults or minorities
Most websites are written at the 12th
Tech writers expend a lot grade level or above (AAAS report)
of time and effort to
communicate just
the right content.
ReadSmart formatting helps readers
to get past the reading process and to get to the content.

27. Find
out
more
about
readsmart
at
www.readsmart.com.
Contact
Tom
Bever
tgb@readsmart.com
or
Lee
Berendt
lee@readsmart.com

28. More
about
ReadSmart:
www.readsmart.com