What’s your big, bad, ugly?
content, effective communication, resource, writing October 21st, 2008
What’s your biggest, baddest, ugliest communication/copy challenge?
What, specifically, would you like to know about getting great copy or communicating more effectively?
What can’t you seem to accomplish with your communication/copy?
Post a comment here and I’ll answer the best questions in future issues of my Get Great Copy e-newsletter.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:48 am
Writing in a very conversational way. I tend to write in a very stark business manner. I am a very lighthearted and fun person, but sometimes my writing turns out being overly serious for the topic. How do I put my fun spirit into my writing? If I were a writer, I’d write just like you – simple, clear, effective, easy to read, easy to retain. I want to come across as the fun, yet professional person I am. I am so creative and can also break down complex marketing strategies, but I struggle with simplifying sentences and packing a powerful punch into my written words.
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:49 am
Ah, a good one. I will definitely address this in a future issue of my newsletter. In the meantime, let me share a couple of ideas I use in coaching my clients:
1. Write to the topic as though you’re writing it for an alien (or a child). This will affect your choice of words, sentence length, etc. and automatically simplify your copy. And simple copy is always more readable.
2. Don’t write it … speak it. Get a digital voice recorder and start talking. Sounding conversational comes from telling the story as though you were, well, telling the story.
3. Self edit. Literally look at every word in your sentence and decide if there’s a shorter, more conversational word to replace it or if the word can be deleted altogether. Divide one sentence into two or more.
4. Practice writing conversationally when you’re not on deadline. Write a sentence about an everyday thing. Then write it again a different way and write it again another way. Writing conversationally takes work! It sounds effortless because it’s been written and rewritten to smooth it out and tighten it up.