Lists have always been a great way of organizing your thoughts but in this era of ever-shrinking attention spans they can also make an effective communication tool. Here are the top reasons why I think lists work so well:
- Lists force writers to organize their thoughts.
- The basic structure of a list is simple and easy to understand.
- Lists eliminate fluff.
- Lists help break up content into manageable chunks that are easy to scan.
- The average four-year-old can count to 10 … which means that the current U.S. market for top 10 lists is estimated at 285,706,894 people.
Bonus Lists:
- 10 Reasons Why We Love Making Lists
- Top 10 BP Gaffes During the Gulf Oil Spill
- The three rules about conspicuous consumption for embattled CEOs
- 10 Ways to Find More Pleasure Every Day
- 10 Lessons From the Coolest Company Anywhere
- Is Your Blog the Unpopular Kid?
- How to Kill a Vampire Project
A counterpoint (i.e. lists suck):
Tags: Organization
Umberto Eco says that we like lists because we don’t want to die: http://m.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/12/umberto-eco-on-why-we-love-lists/266728/