WRITE THE WAY YOU SPEAK

To get a reader to stick like glue to your article, economise with your words and write the way people talk.??

You’re talking one-to-one with your reader.??Of course, you’re hoping for a readership of millions … but always approach your writing as though you’re speaking to just one person.??A very special person, at that.??Somebody you can address as easily as you could your best friend, your sibling – confident that your informal approach will be welcomed because you’re clearly ‘on side’.??If your reader truly feels that you’re there to improve Life for him in some way, he’ll read everything you offer him.??

Pick your theme or storyline and keep it central to the piece – from the beginning, through the middle and right to the end – weaving in the details as necessary.??

????????????As necessary.??That means ‘SPARINGLY’.??There’s no point in adding every factoid you’ve researched to one article.??What are you trying to prove by giving away all your secrets at once???That you’re bursting with knowledge???Nobody’s impressed by that.??That you’ve spent hundreds of hours and a lifetime of passion dedicated to researching the topic???Ditto.??None of your research time needs go to waste.??Remind yourself that you committed to use it to work on small, bite-sized titbits of information that you can release into the world bit by bit.?

Choose a conversational tone with your narrative.??Yes, even if you’re a CEO, a top solicitor or software developer.??In my experience, people in these positions who want to publish white papers find it most difficult to cut out the jargon and lofty language – a poor creative choice that does nothing to warm the reader to the writer.??If you actually want to intimidate your reader with a haughty approach and an arsenal of vocabulary that nobody understands except you, go ahead and write that way.??There may be some satisfaction to be gained in its writing, but as far as its publication is concerned, of course, it’s a total waste of time:??nobody is being held at gunpoint to read officious nonsense.??Peachy content manages to include all the product or service information you want to deliver in a natural way, sticking to the central theme or storyline.

????????????So, economise with your words and write the way people talk.??A nifty trick to check if your voice is natural is to read the piece out loud; you can record it and play it back to yourself.??If you sound like you’re chatting to a friend, you’ve nailed it.??If it doesn’t, go back and revise the last draft.??Highlight the phrases that include jargon, stilted phrasing, long sentences and lofty language and change them.?????

Too many business articles and books lack real ZING that keeps readers reading.??AMP helps you to develop your writing skills by using clever tricks that fiction writers use to create great stories.??Go on – treat yourself to a few to get started!??Go to the Authorship Mentor Programme website for help.??Happy scribbling!