Starting My Verb Experiment Journey
I noticed folks struggled understanding my tech guides. My analytics showed high bounce rates. So I sat at my kitchen table last Tuesday wondering why people weren’t sticking around. Decided to investigate by rereading my own content. Oof. Realized I’d used words like “implement” and “optimize” everywhere. No wonder normal humans tuned out.
Testing Simple Words in Real Life
Grabbed my recent Raspberry Pi tutorial. Went through each sentence swapping fancy verbs:
- Changed “implemented the solution” to “tried this fix”
- Replaced “optimized the code” with “made the program faster”
- Swapped “utilized the API” for “used the tool”
Then asked my neighbor’s kid to read both versions. Kid gave me brutal truth: “The first one feels like homework. Second one’s like you’re talking to me.” Damn.
Discovering Real Impacts
Published both versions side-by-side. Watched analytics like a hawk for three days:
- Fancy verb version: 42% read past intro
- Simple verb version: 81% scrolled to bottom
- Comments exploded with “Finally get this!” messages
Even my tech-savvy buddy admitted: “Yeah your ‘discover’ examples made me less defensive about not knowing stuff.”
Explaining My Verb Rulebook
Created this cheat sheet on my whiteboard:
- Instead of “initiate” → “start”
- Kill “demonstrate” → Use “show”
- Trash “ascertain” → Choose “check”
Stuck it next to my monitor. Now before publishing anything, I do verb patrol. Run through each paragraph hunting fancy verbs like they’re bugs in my code.
Where I’m At Now
Got lazy yesterday and wrote “configured the parameters” in draft. Immediately heard that kid’s voice in my head. Changed it to “set up the settings”. Traffic keeps climbing, though my college professor cousin says my writing now “lacks sophistication”. Whatever. People actually use my guides now. Sold.