Eyes and Ears

When Marc Antony asked his friends, Romans, and countrymen to lend him their ears, he was gearing up for a very different message than the obituary he would have written had they lent him their eyes.

As writers and editors, we encounter that difference all the time. Eyes and ears process information differently. Depending which organ you’re using, you’ll expect a different type of product.

As the inimitable Mrs. Zlata Press put it, the ear is dumber than the eye. When you wish to convey information via speech, you will likely use shorter, punchier words. Your sentences will be briefer. You’ll avoid stringing together too many clauses in one dose. Remember: Your listeners have to process the information while the soundwaves carrying it dissipate in the air. No matter how attentively they listen, they can’t go back and re-hear the statement you just made. You have to keep the message at their level so it’s digested the moment they hear it. There are no second chances.

When you wish to convey information via the written word, you’re dealing with a different set of expectations. The same audience, with the same vocabulary level, will enjoy words that might have stymied them in a casual conversation. (That’s why a lot of us know the meaning and usage of many words that we have no idea how to pronounce.)