On glue (or: The 0.1%)

James W. Pennebaker's The Secret Life of Pronouns should compel every single content writer online. (And those reading New Scientist in print.)

A precis? Sure.

James W. (who I can't help but refer to as such) tells us that it's not "content" words—verbs, nouns, and so on—that matter so much in communication.

It's "function" words—pronouns, articles, prepositions, auxiliary verbs, negations, conjunctions, quantifiers, and adverbs, verbal glue—that create style, and underlie the personality of a communication.

"These words account for less than 0.1 per cent of your vocabulary but make up more than half of the words commonly used. Your brain is not wired to notice them but if you pay close attention, you will start to see their subtle power."

His article expounds duly upon such power. Let us focus instead on what this means for web and digital writing.

It's James W.'s 0.1% that makes style, that reveals subtleties of personality. I'm taking that to mean that, therefore, it's his 0.1% that creates rapport, empathy, and the digital holy grail: engagement. Indeed, James W. himself says:

"Function words require social skills to use properly. The speaker assumes the listener knows who everyone is and the listener must know the speaker to follow the conversation."

It's the 0.1% that makes this text sound like it's talking to you. This is important for web writers. Imperative, even.

James W. makes the point that people who write using a large proportion of I-pronouns tend to be more formal, concerned with social status and power, and less reflective.

A little box alongside the printed article suggested that a preponderance of I-pronouns in one friend's written communication with another indicated that the I-pronoun-user was lower in the social hierarchy.

I could go on for paragraphs, but for the sake of concision, here are the literal and metaphorical bottom lines:

• This research supports a reader-first approach.
• It indicates benefit-focused writing (all about you) will have greater personal impact that feature-focused prose (all about me/us/we)—but not just because of the content words it contains.
• It champions the careful use of function words in text.

Bored yet? Okay, let me get out the big guns:

• Do not cut function words when you're trying to reduce the word count of digital content. Function words are the tools of reader/user engagement.
  
• I-pronouns can subconsciously imply the brand's respect for the reader/user if used with care. (If not, they can make the brand sound like a stuck-up bore.)
  

Crazy? Maybe. It's a good thing this blog doesn't live and die by peer review. I'd be interested to hear your thoughts, though.