Here’s a magic super-power that is available to anyone who wishes to have it: reading closely.
So, it actually turns out, just reading the words on the page goes a long way.
Just yesterday, I was talking to one of my lawyers about his paralegal, and he told me that the paralegal had to put into a Google Drive a copy of a law. He did it, but he used the version of the law from 2012. He hadn’t checked to make sure it was the most recent version, even though it said so right there on the document itself he uploaded (needless to say, this paralegal is getting the boot.)
This problem is endemic to most human beings. There are words on the page and they just don’t read them.
Some people skim. Most people probably skim.
Some people read every word, but don’t think about what it actually means or implies.
Some people read, but the big words in the paragraphs, not the footnotes, and other smaller words.
Some people think they’re so above the down and dirty reading (oh, that’s what the people I hire do) that they don’t sit there and read it for themselves.
Here’s what happens if you do decide to invest the time in actually reading every word on a page.
First, a lot of subtlety in what is being written comes out, information that would be lost in when skimming. This subtlety is actually important because it introduces details like qualifications that may turn out to influence a later decision.
Secondly, simply by reading more about the issue, you’ll understand more of it than you did before. And since most of the others aren’t reading, it gives you a leg up in the conversation, so you can be one step ahead.
Third, surprises are often in the small text. Sometimes these are on purpose, and that’s the genesis of the marketing concept of “Easter eggs,” in which companies hide small rewards in texts to reward those who are diligent. And skeezy lawyers famously stick sneaky provisions into contracts.
Most of all, the close read shows the writer that you’re really paying attention to them. And you know what makes almost anyone fall in love with you? When they know you’re closely paying attention to what they say and do. Even when they’re paying you to do so, because, it turns out, most people they pay don’t even do that much.
