Why people don’t read

The other day, I downloaded the latest wonderful podcast from Lee Hopkins, in which Lee makes some excellent points about why our spoken message doesn’t always get through to our audience at work.

As I listened to Lee (twice!), I thought about a related issue that’s been whirling around my mind: why people don’t read. I hear this from clients and colleagues all the time. They say: "I wrote the email asking for help, but no one responded" or "I explained the new policy in writing, but employees are still following the old one!" A software developer tells me: "No one pays attention to the two-page documentation that tells them how to get started; they call for support instead!"

So, why don’t people read? I’d like to point out a few reasons, which come from 25 years of business experience, not from a scientific study. (I am assuming here that basic literacy is not the issue.)

1. The message is unclear.
Perhaps the software developer needs to re-examine his email communication from the point of view of his customer. Does it explain the process step by step? Does it use heads and subheads to break the message into manageable chunks? Is the writing simple and clear? Does he avoid jargon and explain any technical terms?

2. The message is too hard to read.
Physically too hard, I mean. In last week’s mail I received a promotional piece from a local real estate agent. The sans-serif type was ugly and crowded, there was no white space, and the shiny paper made me squint. Unless the recipients of this brochure are highly motivated, there’s no way they’re going to devote more than 22 seconds to this copy. And they can’t even tell from the lame headline what it’s about: "Start the new year with a new plan." What the heck is that about? I don’t know. And I’m not going to find out.

3. There’s nothing in the message that benefits the reader.
Why would I read the real estate agent’s brochure? If I thought it would help me sell my house at a high profit, buy a house with a lower commission, or even save money on operating costs, I might be interested. From a cursory glance, it looks like drivel drafted by a corporate drone for use by all of the agents across the country, with zero customization for the local market. What a waste of dead trees.


So, why do we make these three mistakes – and more – when we write? A lack of focus on the audience’s need is often the heart of the problem. In employee communications, I constantly come back to these questions as I plan and write articles: What do the employees care about? What do they need to know about this issue? How will it affect their day-to-day work? How will this program make their company (and their jobs) more viable over the long term? In other words, what’s in it for them?

Don’t even get me started on the subject of younger readers and their short attention spans! That’s another post altogether.