Write Like You Talk - Easier Said Than Done!
Why is it that many of us seem to write better and more effectively when we comment on other people’s posts than in our own blog posts? Simple. We write the way we talk in our comments. We write as if we are talking.
So, why is that we fail to write the way we talk in our own posts? Part of the problem may be because we are mostly high-strung and edgy in trying to assert our “authority” and forget to chill out. When we talk to a friend or our spouse, we are least worried about the correctness of each and every word that we speak (unless we are hiding something). We are natural and become more real. In front of them, we need not pretend to be smarter than we actually are. We do not use intelligent-sounding or bombastic words to drive home our point but simply maintain the flow of the words. We are at our most informal best and even use colloquialisms if need be. If we could transfer the same “style” in our business blogs then we may have found the answers to writing the way we speak.
Let’s learn to smile in our writings. Remember how we tend to use smileys in our comments on other people’s posts? It sure does convey a happy state of mind and seem to connect with the readers more easily. And when you write with happy smiles, then the strict grammar rules don’t apply. We are not writing for the purists, are we? We make our own rules here. Don’t worry about starting a sentence with a conjunction. When we talk, sometimes we start with “and” and “but”. But they seem to make sense. And the words flow easily too. Hey! When I say grammar rules don’t apply, it does not mean you can trash the grammar. It only means ignoring a few rules that goes with your style. You know what I mean, don't you?
The point is we have to find our own voice and write as naturally as we can. Write the way we talk. And we need not try to impress everybody. Just keep the language simple. Be yourself.
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I think this goes hand in hand with the idea that we MUST MUST MUST write in small paragraphs, especially for the mobile readers.
I once went through all my posts chopping up paragraphs that had more than two sentences.
People speak in bursts like this, not lectures. And when someone's scrolling/scanning on a phone, they want and expect to be "spoken to", not to read a novel.
love the post, thanks!
Point taken.
On the flip side, I've read some content where they person writes like they speak and it just comes off as careless.
As much as we want to be approachable, we also want to be trusted. If we can't form decent communication, how can they trust us to deliver in business?
How about a balance?
~Bob
Agreed! I stumbled upon a blog the other day which was all just Hodor Hodor, Hodor Hodor, Hodor.
;)
Perhaps that was the best (and only) way the person could have written. Because I have seen many people who write the way they speak and that is pretty much how they communicate in other areas too. Writing the way we speak is a skill which we keep on perfecting as we gain more experience.
I like what you said, "Let's learn to smile here in our writings." I've heard that said when it comes to talking to people on the phone, so I guess writing with a smile has the same effect.
Kyle says often that we're writing for people, not for Google, so we should definitely be a lot more laid back when we write; we can be professional without being uptight.
Great post, Sukumarth.
In the end, it's all about connecting with people and getting our message across. Some people are able to connect easily in an angry tone even. We are pinned down by the serious tone in some people's writings. While in some, we like the easy, carefree manner in which they convey an idea. I think we cannot have a general rule of writing as such because no two persons are alike and we cannot expect people to emote exactly the same way through their writings. What say?
Human beings are by nature terrified of being judged and criticized so I guess when we write a post this program runs subconsciously, making it difficult for us to 'chill' as you suggest.
Thinking about it, the difference between writing a post and writing a comment is that generally, when we write a post, if we think about the audience at all, we do so impersonally, probably with an unconscious fear that what we write will not be good enough or accepted.
When we write a comment to a post or a reply to a comment, we know we are connecting with another individual. What we write is aimed directly at the person so is much easier to be real and conversational. Also, the better we know the person and connect with them the easier it is to be ourselves without fear.
So so in my opinion, therein lies the clue. If we can stop viewing our post audience, impersonally, as a panel of faceless judges, and rather think about connecting personally with one person, it may change the way we write.
What do you think?
~Mark
I have seen that it takes a different skill to write a business blog where the ultimate aim is conversion or making a sale. It’s not necessary that all good writers will write outstanding business blog posts. If we were writing merely for the sake of writing with no particular type of audience in the mind, then we are free from the anxiety of how the particular writing will perform in SERPs. Yes, almost every post on our blog is a sales pitch and it takes a serious skill to be able to “perform” nicely. Rather than making us more creative, our anxiety arrests the imagination making us dole out insipid writings one after the other. Like you said, when we write a business blog post, we are afraid of how the audience will look up to it, how they would react. And mostly, this anxiety is there because of our inadequacies. I’m sure most of these so-called anxieties will not be there if you are confident with the craft you are in. It needs a good deal of knowledge to make our honesty shine through.
Agreed. No doubt it is a process of learning, practicing and becoming more skillful at being conversational and at the same time writing effectively. I can't say I feel that confident yet.
I am trying to include a few lines about me in most posts to become a real person to the reader, but it also has the effect of reminding me that I can just be my natural self. I have to admit my grammar is not good and have taken measures to address that.
I really like Ivy T"s idea of reading aloud and see how the words flow, and agree with sukumath if you write naturally, who you are comes out
Yes, reading aloud. Some even go to the extent of recording their own readings to gauge how it actually sounds, and do the necessary corrections in their writings.
Have you tried Grammarly? It is great for writing without worrying about the grammar, punctuation, etc... it is free, just download and write away :))
Sukumarth, this is all fine, I agree! But when it comes to the register of our writing, we should always be reminding ourselves first of all WHO our target audience is.
I will not write in the same way for a group of BMX enthusiasts as I would for a group of executive decision-makers. It's true that anyone might read your blog, but a large part of your blog development is about correctly identifying the audience for your niche, and as a part of this activity, you should understand how they like to be spoken to.
Another thing that might help you guess if you've gotten your register right is to simply ready your work aloud, as part of the editing process. This small act does wonders for identifying problems with pace and tone.
Hey, here's a true funny story linked to this: Off and on over the years, I've met in person, many of the people I've interacted with online. These include people I once war-gamed with as a 20-something student back in the early 90s (MUDs! SO many dead zombies), and some lovely people in various message-board forums.
One of these lovely people was a lady from the UK, living in the US, whose first child shared a birthday with my own first, so we were in a parenting board together. We met for a lunch right outside the Sydney Opera house during her visit of a conference for magazine editors (yes, her job).
...Midway through mouthfuls of food and laughter she suddenly stopped me to declare really loudly: You know, you're the first person from the internet that I've met who actually looks like their photo and speaks the way that they write!?
Which brings me to my last point - are some of us not getting the tone of our writing right, because we might be afraid of being our true, authentic selves? Do we feel like we need to perform 'someone else' in order to be accepted?
I think I erred in my communication. It’s my fault because I sounded like generalising too much. It wasn’t my intention to say that we need to write in an informal manner every time in all our articles without considering who our target audience is. It goes without saying that in our endeavour to write the way we speak, we cannot expect the audience (and any audience) to endure trash. See how I ended up clarifying my position here? This is a lesson in itself because in trying to make my post brief, I committed a serious mistake in sounding like taking a one-sided stand. The underlying idea of the whole thing was that many people have two separate voices as writers. One where they write freely with a refreshing candour and with no self-consciousness. The other where they are so cautious with their words that everything sounds contrived. I think many of us are not getting the tone of our writing right because unconsciously (or consciously) we try to create a different persona of our own selves. Now, why we do that will require a long discussion which, perhaps, we can do some other day. Thanks for your valuable input.
You haven't erred, and there's no fault to be accepted. You generated a fine discussion here, and you have some very interesting and valuable responses!
That is so true. I find myself in comments speaking with my southern slang on occassion and might even say "Y'all" or "yes m'am" but I don't do that in writing my content. Then again, lots of times I am kidding around in comments and trying to be overly serious with my content for my site.
I read another interesting blog elsewhere yesterday about keeping your reader engaged by surprising them with words you use..basically not always sticking to the norm, and keeping your reader off of auto-pilot by your choice of words and how you use them. This is a much discussed topic.
I too think it's OK to jump outside "The strict grammar rules" to keep your readers attention.
I like this post, all good points and reminders...the natural flow is usually the most honest ...be yourself!
In my case, I think I will have to tone down the "southern" just a bit. ;-)
Well said. I use Site content and it's always telling me off for starting sentences with And or that I have used a grammar no no in a sentence.
I'm really naughty and ignore Site content grammar unless they are right, which they very often are.
I do get told offf for my English spelling instead of the American way. I say organise, you say organize.... not going to pretend I'm not from the U.K... lol... or is that a rookie error ?
With Grace and Gratitude
I'm with you on that. I continue to spell organisation 'correctly' and will not change it!! I just can't! Ha.
Oh yes. And I was hanging on to 'programme' for a very long time... ;)
Wait, what - I don't know anyone in an 'organization'. Really? This is a quirk where you are?
Nice blog Sukumar. It is not easy to write how we speak and takes a bit of practice. I try and visualize a friend or family member in front of me and I write like I am speaking to them. Once I have the content down I then begin to correct grammer and spelling.
Some even recommend recording our "talk" and writing the transcript later with fine tunings :)
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Sooo good Sukumarth, I realize that I can't talk like an intellectual because I'm not one.
Like you I speak clearly so as others may understand without the posing and swag, we just want to sell something, not get admiration.
Always love your posts, you're a real thinker.
Cheers Jae