Write like you speak!

Below is a transcript of the video.

Hi, and welcome to the channel. I’m Dr Clare Lynch of the Doris & Bertie Writing School, and I’m on a mission to help you become a better, more confident, more persuasive writer.

There’s an old saying that people don’t do business with businesses, they do business with people. 

Now the thing about people is they like to talk - it’s what makes us human. 

And when you’re writing, a great way to connect with people - with real life, flesh and blood human beings - is to write like you speak. 

Copywriters like me have always known this, which is why when we’re trying to persuade our readers to take action, we always try to make those readers feel like we’re talking directly to them.

So today I want to give you seven practical tips on how you can be a more engaging, persuasive writer by developing a more conversational writing style.

1. JUST SAY WHAT YOU HAVE TO SAY

When you’re having a conversation with a friend, you don’t announce what you’re about to say before you say it. You just say it, right?

But in writing - especially business writing it can be really tempting to couch your words in long-winded preambles where you call attention to the fact you’re in the act of writing by saying something like: 

“I am writing to inform you”

But you’d never do this in real life.

For example, which sounds more conversational, direct and just plain friendlier?

“I would like to invite you to my birthday party next week.”

or

“Come to my party next week!”

“I am writing to express my regrets that we are unable to attend your party next week”

or

“I’m sorry, but we can’t make your party”

“We wish to congratulate you on your success”

or

“Congratulations!”

“I hereby inform you of our change of address”

or

“We’re moving!”

In each of the examples we’ve just seen, the shorter version was just much more natural and conversational – not to mention sounding warmer and more sincere.

2. ADDRESS YOUR READER AS “YOU”

Here’s another bug bear of mine! 

Where business writers go into super formal, non conversational mode - by talking about their reader, not to them.

Let me explain what I mean.  

When you’re buying something in a shop, the assistant doesn’t say to you:

“Would the customer prefer to pay by cash or credit card?”

(unless he or she is being terribly rude, of course).

They say:

“Would you prefer to pay by cash or credit card?”

For greater impact, take the same approach with your writing.


Again, ask yourself which is more conversational and direct:

“Clients may download the document from our website.”

or

“You can download the document from our website.”

“Candidates are requested to return a completed application form to us by 10 December.”

or

“Please return your completed application form to us by 10 December.”

In other words, when you sit down to write any piece of business document,  imagine your reader is standing in front of you. What would you say to their face?

3. USE CONTRACTIONS

When you speak, you naturally use contractions such as

“It’s”, “don’t” and “you’ll”

for

“it is”, “do not” and “you will”.

So, unless you’re writing an academic thesis, feel free to ignore that old English teacher who told you to always spell them out.

4. USE SHORT WORDS

I’ve said it before, and I’ll no doubt say it again: when it comes to writing, short is definitely sweet.

You’d never say to your partner:

“What comestibles should we imbibe for this evening’s repast”.

You’d say:
 
“What shall we have for dinner?”.

So apply the same approach to your written language and ditch those long, pretentious words that business writers love so much.

For example, replace words like “facilitation”, “regarding” and “utilise” with more common, conversational alternatives, such as “help”, “about” and “use”.

By the way, a big shout out to Nicholle who asked me to blog about the difference between use and utilise.

Nicholle, I am totally with you - I also cringe when I read the word utilise. 

Why on earth would you use three syllables when you can use one to say exactly the same thing.

Use use, not utilise, people!

5. USE SHORT SENTENCES

Conversational writing, like speech, is governed by the capacity of the average pair of human lungs.
If you find yourself gasping for breath before the end of a sentence, it’s too long. And if it’s too long, it’s likely you’ve tried to cram in too many ideas, making your sentence hard to follow.

So see if you can split the sentence up into two sentences or more.

I’ve done several videos on how to edit sentences so they’re punchier and more powerful - I’ll pop some links to them in the text below.

Number 6 - and this follows on naturally from shortening your sentences...

6. USE SHORT PARAGRAPHS

For me, long blocks of text in business writing are the written equivalent of being pinned against a wall and talked at non-stop by someone very boring and very hard to follow.

So make your business writing kind to the eye - and the brain - by breaking it up into short, easily manageable paragraphs.

I’m specifically talking about business writing here - because different conventions apply in academic writing. But when it comes to writing in business - especially if your reader is reading online. In contrast to what you were probably taught at school, one-sentence paragraphs are OK.

And my final tip for writing like you speak...

7. FEEL FREE TO START YOUR SENTENCES WITH
“AND”, “BUT” AND “BECAUSE”

Again, you were probably told not to do this at school. And again, I wouldn’t recommend it for academic writing. But, as with the spoken word, it’s perfectly OK to start a sentence with "and", "but" and "because".

Why?

Because they make your sentences shorter.

And as we just saw, short sentences are easier to read than long ones.

So that’s it - seven tips for writing like you speak! Let me know in the comments below what you thought of this video - and if you have any tips for writing in a more relaxed, conversational style.

And, as ever, if you’ve enjoyed this video, be sure to give me a thumbs up, click that notification bell so you never miss a video, and share this video with your colleagues and friends.  

For more writing advice, enrol in my online course, Writing With Confidence, available at the Doris and Bertie Writing School.

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