Headlines and Summary Blurbs: Saints or Saviors ?

Screenshot: TED.com

I truly am appreciative of TED Talks and Food & Wine for my daily doses. Both of these sites provide me with new insight on my interests. I especially appreciate the way they handle presenting their articles with clear headlines and quick summary blurbs. Now personally what entices me most about a headline is when it’s clear and straight to the point, as well as relevant to the actual story. This is probably why I’m such a huge fan of TED Talks, all headlines are quick to grab my attention and allow for me to actually know what’s going on without any hidden motives. Same goes for Food & Wine; whenever they post a new recipe or a new travel location of the best local restaurants they make their headlines short and sweet. Whether it’s about seafood, pasta or steak, then the headline dictates exactly that, with a sweet two sentence summary blurb that follows. Allowing for any reader to know exactly what’s about to be read.

Screenshot: foodandwine.com

Now many people may think that summary blurbs ruin an article or make it lose its point, however I would have to kindly disagree. Summary blurbs give me a sort of heads up on the article. If it's something I'm really interested in then I'll know what's going on ahead of time and I won't have to waste my time reading the article if it doesn't resonate with my interests. However, I don't think summary blurbs should reveal too much information, they should reveal just enough to peak my interest or grab my attention; approximately a sentence or two will do. I don't want the whole article to be revealed because then it really does beat the point of me actually reading it.

As long as a clear and sweet headline appears followed with a simple one to two sentence summary blurb, an article has got my attention. I rather get an honest and open preview then be tormented half way through an article.

#TED #foodandwine