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Most people won’t read your argument.

They’ll skim it. Maybe aggressively. Maybe while half-distracted. Maybe on a phone, in line, with low blood sugar, or even lower patience.

That’s not a character flaw. That’s reality.

And here’s the uncomfortable truth: if your argument collapses under skimming, it wasn’t strong to begin with.

That’s because skimming isn’t the enemy of good thinking. It’s the stress test of it.

A strong argument is crystal clear. Even when read in tension-building ways, the reader should be able to answer three questions:

1. What are you claiming?
2. Why should I care?
3. What’s the logic holding this together?

If those answers only appear after five paragraphs of “context,” your argument isn’t nuanced — it’s buried. Skimming exposes whether your thinking is clear or merely verbose.

“But Blake!” you say. “Doesn’t clarity dumb things down? Won’t a simple, skimmable argument strip away sophistication?”

Not at all. In fact, the opposite is true. Clear writing is the byproduct of clear thinking. If you truly understand your idea, you can express it without ceremonial throat-clearing.

Einstein didn’t say, “Make it simple because your audience is stupid.” He said make it simple because you should understand it.

So if your argument needs uninterrupted focus, perfect lighting, or a quiet room to make sense, the problem isn’t the reader. It’s you, the writer.

Which brings me to great headlines. If you can’t make your argument with an honest, skimmable, and/or arresting headline, it’s still weak. If you’re vague, no one will read your headlines, let alone your argument.

You see, skimmable means you respect the reader’s time enough to get to the point. It means you believe your ideas deserve to be seen, not hidden. It means you’re confident enough to state your position plainly and let it be examined.

If your argument and headlines can’t survive skimming, they won’t survive curiosity or scrutiny either.

BONUS: If your openings are polite instead of arresting, your readers will leave by the second or third paragraph.