SEAHO Report - Holiday 2020 - 19

passionate about. Treat your words
like your personal microphone -
what do you care about? What do
you want to say and to be heard?
Then, tell your story. Is your story
relatable? Does it apply to the
reader's world? Does it answer a
question? Does it provide insight to
current challenges? These are some
helpful questions to get the writing
juices flowing.
Q: Well, what are the hot topics
right now that reports/publishers
are looking for?
A: Within student affairs, a given
is anything regarding COVID. Some
key COVID questions to consider
include:
* How is your institution
responding?
* What are you learning?
* What are the best practices you
are utilizing?
* What does virtual engagement
look like?
* What is the impact of COVID and
virtual learning on your students
of concern?
* What does navigating mental
health during this pandemic while
in our professional roles look
like? How are your identity and
intersectionalities impacted?
* Overall - how are we adjusting
effectively, ineffectively, and
innovatively?
COVID aside, what creative and
new ways of thinking and doing
our respective roles have emerged?
Readers are continuously looking
for ways to engage around racial
tensions in a healthy way. What
does navigating vulnerability
look like in general, including
how our field views our work? Is
the infrastructure of higher ed
sustainable? The job search process
- the complexities of the candidate
and employer, shifting gears from
the on-campus experience, and
the overarching questions about
the student affairs bubble - is this

right for you, or is it time to pop?
Q: What differentiates a good
article and a great article?
A: One word - Clarity!
Consider how clearly you can get
your ideas across. Think about the
publication platform's viewership
and who may comprise their
reading audience. Why use a $20
word when a $1 word can pack just
as big of a punch! Our attention
spans are a bit shorter - keep our
attention and focus material on
what you intend to do, and then
do it. No tangents. Simon Sinek
would say to Start with Why: why
should the reader care what you
will be discussing? The way to keep
our attention is catchiness - lure
the reader with the sexiness (and
directness) of your title and first
few sentences. Once you have them
hooked, keep them hooked. A more
nuanced skill that comes with time
and practice is flow. As a writer, we
suggest you brain dump; I call it
word-vomiting. Once you complete
your brain dumping part of the
process, revisit to edit, cut things
out, link thoughts, and use research
to back you up.

Hint: Research takes the
pressure off you feeling the
need to be an 'expert'.
A great article creates engaging
and thought-provoking content.
What books do you typically enjoy
the most? The one in which you
knew the ending from the first
sentence, or the one that left you
lingering over questions? People
love a good story - narrate through
your thought, as it can help drive
a point home and connect the dots
from theoretical to contextual. Once
you've painted the picture, create
action and movement. Help the
reader understand how to apply
the insight and information you
just bestowed. It is totally okay
to use meaningful imagery and

videos. They illustrate your point,
enhance the reading experience,
and reinforce lessons. Additionally,
consider adding visualization as
it provides value; particularly
for those of us that best learn
visually. Oh, one more thing...
one publication biggie is: no stock
photography, please.
Q: How do you entice the reader
with understanding data?
A: Tell. The. Story.
Understand that the readers have
not been studying your story as
long as you have. It might even be
their first time. Make your data
precise and understandable for
their level.
What does that mean, you ask?
Fully describe the numbers and
graphs you're showing. Provide
accurate labeling and units of
measure; avoid labels that are
completely obscure (ex: singleword labels, algebraic symbols). In
change data, say " percentage point
change " and not just " percent " .
Use the full form of percentages
(65.1%) as opposed to the decimal
form (.651).
Like unnecessarily complicated
words, avoid unnecessarily complex
numbers. Our most widely and
intuitively understandable numbers
are in the range from 0 to 10, and
then the range from 1 to 10. These
numbers are our friends. If you
need to expand beyond that, utilize
numbers that are only as detailed
as the reader needs. Too many
numbers or words detract from
the main point. Does your brain
comprehend 2,816,013 people or 2.82
million people quicker?
Q: What are some of your editor pet
peeves?
A: If there is no applicability.
You do not want the reader to
think, " Okay, cool, but I can't see
how this applies. " Is the reader

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SEAHO Report - Holiday 2020

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