Pointify

A large majority of people love to arrange and classify things. Not only things. We love to arrange our thoughts and feelings as well. Haven’t you often heard kids say “My best friend is…, my second best friend is…” and so on?

I find myself to be more receptive to things that are classified and “pointified”.

When I browse news websites I click on many different topics that catch my eye, but I very often find myself attracted to articles like “Top 10 places….” or “5 things you should remember while…” and so on. We love things that are simplified and classified and “pointified” for us. So easy read and digest. Short and to the point, and you have a rough idea of how long of a read it will be. It’s often ordered, so you know you’ll read the most important thing first and you can leave off when you’ve had enough.

I try to do the same in my communication. At work, I send emails with points, like this,

“Hi John, I have 4 comments about your design…” and then put down four points numbered 1 through 4. It is so much easier for me to organize my thoughts and get them across – and easier for John to understand and reply to as well.