Overcoming skimming culture
You send an important update. It contains everything your people need to know. A few days later, someone asks a question that’s clearly answered in the second paragraph.
Welcome to skimming culture.
Why people skim
It’s not that people skim because they don’t care – they skim to find what matters to them quickly. Eye-tracking studies by Nielsen Norman Group found that readers typically focus on headings, key words, and opening lines to find what’s most relevant. With limited time and competing priorities, readers naturally look for shortcuts that help them identify what’s most relevant.
Work with skimming, not against it
The good news is that overcoming skimming culture doesn’t mean dumbing down your content or eliminating important details. It means making information easier to find, understand, and act on.
Effective communicators know that readers scan first and read second. Instead of fighting this behaviour, they design messages that work with it.
Consider the difference between these two approaches:
Less skimmable:
“As part of our ongoing efforts to improve operational efficiency and ensure all team members have access to the most current information, we will be implementing updates to the reporting process beginning next month. Please review the attached document for details.”
More skimmable:
“Action required: Review the new reporting process by June 30.
We’re updating our reporting process next month. Key changes are outlined in the attached document.”
The information is the same, but the second version makes it much easier for readers to quickly identify what matters and what they need to do next.
How to make your communication skimmer-friendly
Ready to create content that people will actually engage with? A few simple adjustments will help:
- Lead with the most important information – and remember, “important” means important to the reader, not necessarily the writer. What does your audience need to know or do first?
- Eliminate unnecessary complexity – clear, straightforward language improves understanding for everyone. Our blog on plain talk explains why!
- Keep paragraphs short – large blocks of text can feel overwhelming and discourage reading.
- Highlight key actions and deadlines – make it easy for readers to know what they need to do next.
- Use meaningful headings and subheadings – they help readers quickly navigate and understand content. Read our blog, the power of good design, to learn how visual hierarchy is the graphic design tool you need in your toolkit!
Good communication meets people where they are
It’s easy to blame short attention spans, but people will happily spend time with content they find relevant. Skimming is simply a reality of modern communication. The most effective communicators acknowledge this and adapt accordingly.
The goal isn’t to make people read everything. It’s to make sure they don’t miss what matters.
So before publishing your next message, ask yourself: If someone only spent 30 seconds with this content, would they walk away with the key messages?
Looking to improve engagement with your communications?
Whether you’re creating employee communications, member updates, or organization-wide campaigns, our team can help you develop content that captures attention and delivers results.
Visit our Communication Consulting page for more details.