Busy Readers Don’t Have Time for Your Words. This Prompt Fixes That

How I Turned Six Research-Backed Principles from "Writing for Busy Readers" Into a Rubric That Cuts Words, Surfaces What Matters, and Gets Responses Faster

Welcome to Words Into Works. Each week, I share one article that helps you use AI to apply what you learn from nonfiction books. If you’ve ever finished a great book—and struggled to do something with it—this newsletter is for you. Paid subscribers gain full access to every prompt, walkthrough, and live example I’m creating to help turn ideas into action.

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TL;DR

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Most messages ask busy readers for more attention than they can give. So, I turned the checklist from Jessica Lasky-Fink and Todd Rogers’ Writing for Busy Readers into a prompt that scores your draft, highlights key edits, and shows how to revise with impact. This issue shares the prompt and shows how to apply the six principles to write shorter, easier-to-navigate messages that get acted on faster, with less back-and-forth.

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If you want your writing to be clear and effective, you can follow six research-backed principles from Writing for Busy Readers by Jessica Lasky-Fink and Todd Rogers.

I use these six principles—along with an AI prompt that edits my writing—to make sure I communicate as clearly and effectively as possible, especially in the workplace.

Each principle includes two to six rules drawn from how people actually read. In the spirit of Rule #1 (“Use fewer words”), here’s the briefest possible summary of each.

Principle 1: Less Is More

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1. Use Fewer Words: Prefer the shortest phrasing that preserves meaning so readers grasp the point quickly.

2. Include Fewer Ideas: Deliver one idea at a time so the reader’s attention stays focused and recall improves.

3. Make Fewer Requests: Offer a single, unambiguous next step so taking action feels easy.

Principle 2: Make Reading Easy

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1. Use Short and Common Words: Choose familiar, short words to lower decoding effort and build trust.

2. Write Straightforward Sentences: Use direct subject, verb, object order, and keep related words close so the meaning lands in one pass.

3. Write Shorter Sentences: Break long lines into shorter ones to reduce cognitive load and sustain momentum.

Principle 3: Design for Easy Navigation

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1. Make Key Information Immediately Visible: Surface the point, action, and critical details where eyes land first.

2. Separate Distinct Ideas: Give unrelated points their own blocks so each unit does one job.

3. Place Related Ideas Together: Keep connected information side by side so readers don’t have to hunt.

4. Order Ideas by Priority: Lead with the most essential information and let supporting details follow.

5. Include Headings: Use clear, descriptive headings as signposts for scanners.

6. Consider Using Visuals: Switch to a table, checklist, or simple diagram when it makes the structure clearer than text.

Principle 4: Use Enough Formatting, But No More

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1. Match Formatting to Readers’ Expectations: Follow familiar styles for headings, links, and spacing so the page feels intuitive.

2. Highlight, Bold, or Underline the Most Important Ideas: Use emphasis to surface the key message, deadline, or link at a glance.

3. Limit Your Formatting: Apply emphasis sparingly so guidance stands out without visual noise.

Principle 5: Tell Readers Why They Should Care

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1. Emphasize What Readers Value (“So What?”): State the concrete benefit or outcome upfront so relevance is obvious.

2. Emphasize Which Readers Should Care (“Why Me?”): Name the audience, situation, or threshold so the right people self-select.

Principle 6: Make Responding Easy

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1. Simplify the Steps Required to Act: Provide one clear path with the smallest possible first step.

2. Organize Key Information Needed for Action: Collect the what, when, where, and how in one place so action is turnkey.

3. Minimize the Amount of Attention Required: Reduce fields, choices, and reading to keep the response effortless.

Use This Prompt to Write for Busy Readers

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Writing for Busy Readers ends with a checklist. So, after reading the book, I turned that checklist into a rubric, much like the one I built for Writing Tools.

Now, before I delegate work, give feedback, or request resources, I grade my message against the rules and change what needs work.

Not every principle applies every time. But the more boxes I tick, the more likely my message gets read, understood, and acted on.

Paste your draft. See your score and the few edits that matter. Then choose the path that fits the moment: top three fixes, a rubric pass, or a complete rewrite.

Here’s the prompt: