Can You Manage a Conversation?

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We all have conversations every day. Admittedly, it is a bit harder for some of us if we are shy, haven't mastered a shared language, or whatever. I know that when I was younger, I was incredibly shy, to the point that it made interacting with people very difficult, so perhaps my question is better phrased as "in a calm and comfortable environment, can you communicate your thoughts verbally?" In general, most people can. Barring any particular, specific difficulties, most of us can express ourselves in conversation, even if only talking with loved ones, or talking to ourselves...

I mention this because a number of times over the past two weeks, I have seen comments along the lines of "I can't write" and "I am no good at this sort of thing", And my response is always the same:

If you can talk to someone, you can write.

Writing, like talking, is simply communication. As Kyle and others have pointed out in the lessons and other bits of training, having a conversational tone works quite well for your blog. If you ever feel like you simply cannot write effectively, then take a moment to imagine that you are having a conversation with someone.

Do you want to write a product review for your site? Imagine that you are telling a friend about it. You could even speak out loud as if your friend was with you, and record what you say, then play it back and write it out. You may decide to clean it up a bit, change a few words around, or whatever, but in essence, writing something for your site or blog is nothing more than having a conversation in written form.

Don't allow yourself to feel that you are incapable of doing this. You are more than capable. As sure as I am talking to you right now, you can talk to someone else. That's all it is. And as you do it more and more, it will become easier.

Like I mentioned to someone the other day, none of us were very good at walking when we were babies, but none of said "hey, I don't think this 'walking' thing is for me." We just kept trying until we succeeded.

Go do the same with your site!

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Recent Comments

17

Craig thanks for the encouragement to write . When I was younger I kept a journal from time to time. Will be seeing you on the community

"Hey, I don't think this 'walking' thing is for me."

Actually, I said those very words when I was 9 months old, lol.
Sorry, Craig..I just couldn't resist.

But, yes...if you can talk you can write. I think writing can be a little bit more soul-baring, for lack of a better word. Even though I am very comfortable sharing my thoughts in verbal and written form, there was an "Eeek!" moment when I was writing my 1st blog.

I think also, there may be a fear factor that someone may misinterpret what you wrote. If you're speaking with someone, you can easily make any corrections or give an explanation on the spot. But if there's a misunderstanding over something you wrote, there could be a lot of back and forth, without a guarantee that a resolution will be reached.

Of course, I have absolutely no facts to back up those two statements, I'm just taking a guess.

Oh my goodness. I now have an image in my head of little Veronica sitting on the floor, arms crossed and chin raised, saying "you may continue to carry me. I shall not be walking." Lol!

As for the other comments... One great danger in written communication is the fact that we can easily read into it things that are not there. You see that online all the time, as people see sarcasm or criticism where there is none. If I tease you about something face-to-face, you will have aural and visual cues as to my true intent that will be completely lacking in the written word.

I remember one time I was having a mild disagreement with one of my oldest friends and I made a comment to him along the lines of "Well, you're still my friend, even if you're wrong."

I meant it in a playful, joking manner, but there was no way to see that staring at a computer screen. He took offense that I was being dismissive of his opinion. If that can happen between longtime friends who are used to teasing and joking with each other, how likely is it to happen with strangers or new acquaintances?

I had someone here make a fairly innocuous comment to me that made me feel rather defensive. I had to take a moment to tell myself that I was likely ascribing things to their comment that they had not intended. As we chatted back and forth, I saw that I had, indeed, been totally misreading what they'd said.

Ah, Craig...I really do like the eloquent way you articulate things. I would call you Professor, but I have already given that title to someone else....I'll have to get back to you on this....

Oh....and thanks for the chuckle! Believe it or not, I was a very quiet child. Not shy, just quiet. It took me many years to find my "voice". Now...well as you can see, I've found it...

Hi Craig, that is a very good point. Often when I'm writing, I write how I naturally talk or how I would explain something to a friend. Then I polish it up, grammatically. It really helps with my process.

Hello Craig and this is a good point when a person asks a question on your website about a product because if you do not know just how to answer then you could lose the sale

Paul

I have always found that if you are unsure of how to write something up, it becomes easier to imagine explaining it to a friend.

Yes makes sense

Paul

Thank you will do more mental talking as I write....

Good advice there, Craig. At times, it's even better to write than to actually say something, as this gives you the opportunity to polish your writing as many times as you wish before your piece of writing goes 'public'.

Absolutely. We can always go back over what we write and fix it up, but the important thing, I think, is to simply start writing. I have spoken with a number of people now who defeat themselves before they try because they feel they don't have the skill to write effectively.

That is correct, yes. I too have spoken with a number of people who say their written word is not up to scratch. There are ways and means to overcome that hurdle, like proofreaders, and copywriters, although the latter do come at quite an elevated cost.

I think one of the main issues is if you're not an English speaking person in the first place, although it's not the end of the world. One tends to forget that many of those who read what is written aren't themselves English speaking in the first place, so that would balance things out.

This is one of the things that held me back from starting a website. I have never been good and writing or grammar. Like Kyle and you and now I say. Writing in a conversational tone is perfectly fine for your content.

If I would have been smart enough to think of it years ago. I would be making money by now.

Now I just have to get over the feeling of being behind the curve.

I think that most people respond quite well to the conversational tone. I have recently started to do some content writing for various other sites, being paid to do so. I always use a conversational voice and they have always been very happy with what I have produced.

I have had many occasions where I thought"if only I'd started this a year ago..." but that doesn't really help anything. Taking action does.

This is so true. To quote a site I receive emails from, "You are not behind, just start where you are."

Lydia

Well said Craig! This is a very good message, especially for someone like me; I feel I'm not good at writing mainly because English is my second language, but your advice encouraged me. Thank you!

Well, you know, there's only one way to get better at something: practice!
:)

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