Why This Entrepreneur Pays $50 a Paragraph to Communicate Better

Clear communication is the fastest route from idea to influence.

CREDIT: Getty Images

How much would you spend to capture the undivided attention of customers, investors, and business partners? $1000? $10,000? $1,000,000?

With the human attention span plummeting to 8 seconds (that’s less than a goldfish) attention has become our most valuable resource. As a leader, you need to be able to communicate your company’s value quickly, clearly, and concisely.

That’s why entrepreneur Derek Sivers, who sold his company CD Baby for $22 million, hires a translator for every piece he writes.

“Because professional translators charge around 10 cents per word, translating makes you question the value of every sentence,” he explains in a blog post. “If you can communicate the same idea with fewer words, it’s more likely to be read and understood.”

Ten cents might not sound like much, but it adds up quickly (Sivers says he paid $50 per paragraph, per language, when translating his website). So while this method might be beyond your resources, the idea behind it is one you can still employ: Write less to say more.

Give every sentence a tangible cost

You might not be paying a translator by the word, but every sentence still has a tangible cost. According to research from Chartbeat, 55% of readers will leave your site after less than 15 seconds. So when you go to edit your writing, look at each sentence–especially the first–and ask “Does this make me want to keep reading?” If it doesn’t, kill it.

Write like you’re talking to a friend

You’re less likely to zone out when a friend is talking. So treat your readers the same way. Personalize your emails and use contractions (there’s instead of there is) to sound more conversational. One unconventional trick I picked up from an old boss is to write everything as a Facebook update. By starting in the place where you interact with friends, you’ll automatically write more conversationally.

Respect your reader’s time

“The future belongs to the best editors,” says Basecamp CEO and founder Jason Fried. Long sentences, big blocks of text, and lengthy read times turn readers off. Instead, keep your sentences and paragraphs short. Ask yourself: If I remove this word, will the sentence still make sense? If I remove this sentence, will the paragraph make sense? And lastly: Do I even need this paragraph?

Get rid of weak adjectives and adverbs

Are you “very tired” or are you “exhausted?” I promise not to get too technical here, but word choice–especially cutting unnecessary adjectives–not only makes your writing shorter, but more exciting. And what about adverbs? Those words that modify verbs and usually end in -ly (as in “she closed the door firmly”). Follow the advice of Stephen King: “The road to hell is paved with adverbs.” Get rid of them.

Say what’s needed. That’s it.

Treat your readers not only as friends, but as intelligent friends. Assume they’ll pick up what you’re saying quickly. Needless repetition only pads word counts. Our future plans include raising more capital can just be We plan to raise capital.