Why is writing in a conversational tone difficult

I so agree, Henneke! Writing that feels conversational is still writing. It still takes work! I used to think, to warm and friendly, just transcribe a real conversation. That did not work! My transcribed interviews just seemed to lay there like a sack of potatoes. Your editing steps are essential! Your article says it best. A conversational tone is deliberate. I read a book a couple of years ago. There was something lazy about the writing.

The Hemingway app is a great tool for this. But you sometimes have to override its tendency to mess with your writing style. As always, Henneke, a wonderful post. I love the freshness of your post structure. So different to the Google formula of H1 to H10 or whatever. No table of contents or video as is deemed so vital by big bloggers. Thank you for an entertaining post. Thank you for your lovely compliment, Poovanesh.

Brilliant as usual Henneke. Thanks for the salient reminder. Conversational writing is one of my favorite topics. I felt like your favourite reader, so you nailed it. Your imagery is so funny e. All the best, Tine. I thank you very much and love everything you send me, I love illustration and I will not forget it.

Good Article and explained nicely, what needs to be taken care to make the writing as conversational writing. I hire a professional writer to write our blog, and at times, I have to go in and break up sentence paragraphs. I hate seeing it! The web and content format is changing so dramatically, nobody wants to read a wall of text these days! This is an excellent article. Just a suggestion: maybe you can add some definite heuristics as well..

Great tips! I suppose my real question is: Can premium B2B branding still be portrayed through a more humane, conversational writing? With some clients you can adjust the guidelines for tone of voice, but others are pretty set in their ways. To me, B2B is also writing for people, and yes, it can be portrayed in a more conversational way of writing, but not all brand managers like that.

Hi there! What do you think? Going through the comments section I realized that I went through a lot of conversational writing. Most of the writers were perhaps not aware of it. Hi Henneke, I totally agree with you on this. One of my tasks is to write texts for the university website. My target audience are prospective students.

I would love to change the way we, as a university, talk to our readers. Then you should enroll in programme X. And ofcourse its true that people have many different reasons to choose a particular education. So, my question is: is it even possible for organizations with so many different target audiences with such divergent interests to find a personal tone of voice in their writing?

And if so, how would you tackle this problem? Thanks in advance for your advice, I really appreciate it! This will help them understand the importance of using white space, short sentences, short paragraphs, and simple words. Dropbox and Evernote are good examples of companies who appeal to a wide audience, but sound human in their writing. They do this by simplifying their writing, keeping content concise, and focusing strongly on benefits rather than features.

Hennecke, Just now got here, for some unknown reason, and as I read your post, I realized who I would write to, immediately. When I first began blogging, I followed a lovely young woman who inspired me, totally, with her great posts.

I wondered how she did everything she did, and why she bothered to visit my site. Then she was attacked on fb, and decided to take a break. My heart was broken, because I saw her as a sort of bloggy mom. After reading this post, I realize she is who I should write my posts for, sort of in her memory, although she is very much alive and has another new baby to show for her time off. Also, I have noticed on my other site, that when I write advice letters to people whose names I have changed, but whose situations are real, my posts REALLY resonate with people.

Readers will notice it in your writing voice. I think that in all aspects of our digital communications, we need to be more conversational. If there is no personal feel or touch, then what is the point?

Yep, conversational writing works in all digital communication. Thank you for stopping by, Ben, and for including my article in your roundup. Before doing any research into it all I would be writing in a style that might sit somewhere in between this and sleazy sales person, unintentionally of course. I am a first-time reader, and found your guest post from one of my Facebook groups. I really enjoy your writing style, and I can see where some of my blog posts have fallen flat.

You are a writer—and a darn good one. Now you just need a story and title to go with it! Oh, yes. A MUST!!! Ok, Henneke. Are you up for that?

Thanks for germinating and sprouting all these new ideas in my head! An artist?!? It is this time I am grateful. Thank you for your generous contributions over time. You have truly enriched my life with a well-toned understanding of writing a Blog.

Wonderful post. Feel great! No one else talks but you. And everyone else listens or ignores you. In other words: Talking TO someone is one-way communication. Talking WITH someone is two-way communication. Hi, Henneke It is a damn good thing I can laugh at my own shortcomings because you zeroed in on me with the following:.

I admit I have the exclamation point disease! Very helpful post. Keeping giving us the good stuff!!!!!!

I really like the idea of writing to one reader. I want to write about writing and marketing. Marketing with soul, you know. Because I feel like anything done with love, with real authenticity, with the soul, is infinitely better. Yes, I so agree with you about writing with the soul. Hi again, love your drawings. Please note my website is not operating at the moment. I had to remove the files.

So at the moment I am reworking everything. Give me a couple of days and I will get back to normal. You see this is the case with novices, mistakes, mistakes and more mistakes. I hope when I have restored the site it will be better in many ways. Also I hope eventually to start a blog that is why I read as much as I can. Your site I enjoy very much. I shall have some of my own art, rather conventional, on my site when it is re-published, you might take some time to view.

Thanks again for more interesting material, Tom. Wow, I feel truly honoured to have inspired this post. Happy new year, Henneke, and thank you so much for your great blog. Thank you so much for all your great comments last year, Kerstin. You inspire me to keep writing. Thanks for the tips. Great post, Henneke! Great way to think of it. Thank you, Jonas. This is really how it works for me. I have to edit out the gobbledygook and undulating sentences to make a text more conversational.

You should definitely keep going. Thank you also for giving me permission to use but, because, and at the start of sentences. And sometimes it just feels right to start a sentence this way.

Really enjoying reading your posts. Thank you so much, Caroline. You deserve a big slice of cake. Here English is unofficially the language of business. Now I know how to do it. Thank you! Welcome, Rhea. But, I love receiving your e-mails because I feel exactly the way you describe in your post when I see yours come in. Thanks for your clear, helpful, engaging, and very personalized writing!

Another great post. A face-to-face conversation is much easier. Hi Henneke, Excellent article. You do write very conversationally, so you are walking the walk. So many!!!! I once wrote that using more than one exclamation mark — in an email or blog post — is a crime against enchantment. I still believe this is true. Good conversationalists use question marks.

Really helpful. Learned a lot this week. Interesting to read your comment about your native Dutch coming out — my New Zealand comes out too. This language business is awfully fun. And I love reading your emails each week. Bombas uses short sentences e. Send you socks.

A good story can change our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviours. It can appeal to personal emotions and create empathy. Our brains simply love stories. When you reveal a little bit of yourself through your content, your audience will become more curious and attracted to it. Read your copy aloud and ask yourself if it sounds like writing? Then, replace your draft with what you just said to them.

Using a conversational tone in writing is a great way to engage your audience. So give it a try. Break some rules and give your readers a good reason to keep reading. Take the time to edit your copy to make it more conversational. And hopefully it will eventually lead to more actual conversations with your customers.

Looking for guidance on how best to engage your audience? Boosting engagement with your content can be as simple as writing the way you talk. The difference between conversational writing and formal writing When you should use conversational writing 11 tips for practicing conversational writing Real examples of conversational copy Ready?

What is a conversational writing style? Conversational writing feels like a one-on-one conversation between your audience and you.

And it totally works. Conversational writing helps you to: Convey your message more easily. You use simple words, not fancy ones or jargon. Engage better with customers. You write like you talk. Build a strong brand. The more customers want to engage with you, the stronger the relationship between them and you. Increase conversions.

Relationships build trust. Once trust is established, it can skyrocket your sales. The difference between conversational writing and formal writing Some simple rules help to distinguish conversational writing from formal writing.

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