Effective Communication
The use of images, charts, videos, and other visuals or interactive media helps to attract and maintain the focus of the reader. In addition if a reader is engaged with the article and it causes an Ah-ha! moment, a giggle, outrage, or any of the other complex emotions or thoughts, we as individuals are capable of, they are more likely to share, tweet, mention, send, and, distribute the information being presented in front of them.
What I liked about the articles that are linked below was that sense of engagement. They played to different thought processes and emotions. The first link about food waste encourages readers to be introspective in their consumption and provides graphs to make the numbers and information more tangible and digestible (see what I did there?).
The article about 12 positive and inspiring environmental stories helps to alleviate stress and is a quick and easy read with its short blurbs about different stories in a numerical list format, engaging with images as well as GIFS, and jovial writing that is related to pop culture, mainstream media, and environmental acts.
The third article about women’s role in the environmental movement what I found most engaging about this article was the use of video’s. In a sense they were guest speakers in the article. Video’s of them telling their personal stories in their field of work were accompanied by the transcript so readers had the choice of listening or reading about these women.
In my own posts I will aim to keep the reader engaged through the use of images, videos, and charts as necessary. Dependent on if they are relevant to the topic I am covering or if there is a specific feeling I am trying to communicate. I also believe short and concise writing does best on these types of formats.
