Think about TV ads. Analyze. Ask questions.

 

 

Consider these ideas for your own compositions.
TV Set   Computer and Quill Pen
ARE THERE ANY PHYSICAL ATTENTION-GETTERS?
ARE THERE ANY PHYSICAL ATTENTION-GETTERS?

Physical attention-getters here simply refers to the incoming stimuli received by our senses, primarily our eyes and ears.

Our vision responds to shapes, sizes, colors, lights, and motion. Our hearing responds to the intensity, frequency, and duration of sounds.

We notice anything unusual or atypical in our environment, as if an animal were suddenly alerted by a sound or a sight. Often we observe it until we're able to understand it, mentally deciding where to fit it into the rest of our experience.

Simple audio and visual signals include such things as a hand beckoning to us, accompanied by a smile or a come-hither look.

Such physical attention-getters have had a long history: the voices of merchants hawking their wares in the marketplace, the spiel of the circus barker, as well as music, such as drum rolls, bugle calls, and trumpet fanfares.

In any large city, we are likely to see flags fluttering on used-car lots, flashing neon signs, airplanes towing banners, hot air balloons, blimps, and rotating searchlights.

In print ads, physical attention-getters include the various styles and design of typeface, graphics, and photos.

On television, physical attention-getters include various electronic and photographic techniques such as slow-motion replays, stop-action ("freeze frame"), time-lapse photography, split-screen pictures, close-ups, blurred focus, cross-sections, enlarged details, computer graphics, and so on.

Yet, there are other physical ways TV ads get our attention.

Very simply put, we are social beings, accustomed to two-way conversations, and the give and take of ordinary life. Someone looks at us, we look back at them. They talk to us, we listen. Someone points a finger at something, we look. Note how frequently this very simple technique is used in TV ads to get our attention.

 

The old folk-saying claims that "you can't tell a book by its cover." But, you can certainly sell a book by its cover.

Book and magazine publishers give a great deal of thought to their cover design as part of their overall marketing strategy in order to attract readers. Browse a bookstore or magazine rack to see the different attempts by various designers today.

Businesses are also greatly concerned with the visual attractiveness of their graphics, symbols, and their letterhead stationery, as being their "first impressions" with their customers.

Such concern about visual first impressions can be applied to your own writing. Before you submit a manuscript anywhere, it's reasonable to ask: "Does it look nice? Is it visually attractive?"

If it's a business letter, does it follow the standard formats and expected conventions (stationery, address blocks, indentation, the polite "boilerplate" or formula phrases)?

In some situations, you might ask: Are the graphics good? Font or typeface? White space? Design?

Avoid distracting, annoying, or insulting your reader. Keep the reader focused on your ideas, not distracted by your errors.

Clean copy is expected both in business and in school: no smudges, strikeovers, or errors. Yet, even with computer spell-check programs, typos and errors somehow survive. But, do the best you can.

Appropriateness is important. For example, once you leave elementary school, it's often in poor taste in school situations to use colored inks, drawings, or computer-generated graphics, and so on to "decorate" written compositions. Check first before you unleash your artistic talents.

Overall visual design is a strategic concept, part of an initial planning process. The actual copyediting and proofreading of a final draft is a necessary tactical chore.

 
| Welcome | Purpose | Audience | Limits | Structure | Attention | Confidence | Explicit | Implicit | Response| Omission |
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