Power of persuasion in a paperless world Robert Dubose Alexander Dubose Jefferson & Townsend...

Power of persuasion in a paperless world

Robert DuboseAlexander Dubose Jefferson & TownsendHouston, TXrdubose@adjtlaw.com

A screen-reading environment is different from paper.

5 qualities of screen readersthat require writers to adapt

1. You must compete for their attention

access to unlimited information

2. Impatient for quick answers

Google/Westlaw

3. They multitask

Windows

iPad

Studies on multitasking

4. They skim

less sustained reading

Texts, emails

“the most distraction-prone workplace in the history of mankind.”-John Freeman

5. They struggle with navigation

The PDF problem – navigating documents on screen is more difficult

The Reading Brain in the Digital AgeScientific American, April 13, 2013

in praise of screen reading

LEGAL WRITING IN THE AGE OF THE SMARTPHONE   

STEVEN STARKwww.starkwriting.com

THE PRINCIPLES OF GOOD LEGAL WRITING IN THE SMART PHONE AGE

• Organization – Lead With Your Conclusion• Use the first paragraph to tell the reader where you’re heading and

why.• Leading with your conclusion is more convincing to readers; the IRAC

style conveys arguments backwards.• For those who get too caught up in their material, leading with your

conclusion helps you to begin where the reader needs to, at the beginning.

• For readers who don’t read carefully, it gives them the most important information first.

• Writing in this fashion comports much more with the way that most information is given to readers in the modern world, especially in the US where communicators tend to be more direct.

The Rules of Writing

• Use strong verbs• Get rid of clutter• Keep sentences to 25 words or less• Move all clauses to the beginning or end of

sentences• Use shorter words• Always edit• Use graphics