[Fundamentals] Signposting: How to reduce cognitive load for your reader
Fundamentals is a new series that highlights my core concepts in communication, leadership, and influence that I personally keep coming back to.
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Fundamentals is a new series that highlights my core concepts in communication, leadership, and influence. Even as my newsletter has grown to 80,000+ subscribers, I often find myself referencing these principles with clients and in my own work. Whether you're new here or a longtime reader, this concept deserves a spot in your toolbox.
This week’s fundamental principle: Signposting: How to reduce cognitive load for your reader
Updated thoughts
Since writing this, I’ve realized that starting a sentence with a signposting phrase is even more useful than I thought. I didn’t realize how I had trained myself to speak and write this way because it’s become my default. Basically, when you start with a signposting phrase, you’re giving your reader a preview of what’s to come.
^ This is why kicking off a sentence with “The most important part to keep in mind is [this piece of info]” is infinitely easier to skim, than “[This piece of info] is the most important part to keep in mind.” If you start with “this piece of info,” your reader doesn’t know what to focus on until the back half of your sentence.
I wrote signposting with written communication in mind, but it’s just as effective for verbal communication. It might actually be even MORE useful with verbal communication because your listener can’t read ahead. They have to listen to you reveal one word at a time.
^ For example, I love when I’m in a meeting and hear the speaker say, “The surprising thing is…” or “The biggest takeaway was…” My attention might have drifted, but hearing them say that signposting phrase allows me to snap back into focus and listen to what they have to say next.
One common misunderstanding or misapplication of signposting, is readers thinking that simply adding headers is good enough. Headers, subheaders, toggles, paragraphs, etc are a type of signposting, but these formatting elements alone are not enough. I’ve read MANY docs that looked well-organized in Notion or Google Docs, but the content itself was weak, poorly argued, or generic. See this related post on how good design (or formatting) can hide poor logic.
I posted about signposting on LinkedIn. Here are some highlights on which signposting phrases folks found most helpful:
Do this today
After you read the article, reflect on these prompts:
Look at the last long-ish memo you wrote. What signposting words could you use to make the flow better?
Think about a recent presentation where your audience seemed confused or asked lots of clarifying questions. How could you have used verbal signposting (“First... Second... The reason this matters is...”) to guide your audience?
Pick a meeting where you’ll need to communicate complex information. What signposting phrases could you use to help add structure to what you’re saying?
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Wes
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