Don't you hate spam emails?
I sure do. They waste my time, interrupting
whatever I'm busy with.
Those annoying emails ought to be outlawed.
Except that occasionally one of those pests
makes me laugh.
Like this: Recently one invaded my inbox with
an offer that included:
"
...Our company creates unique blog articles
that will match your voice, have a direct appeal
to your audience ... "
Ha! Do
I have a few questions about
their offer!
How in the world could they hope to match my voice?
Can they read my mind?
How can they figure out what I'd like to say? And how
I'd say it?
Good luck with that.
Here's why: I've been speaking most of my life
and writing most of that time, too. And for years
I've been struggling to write the way I speak.
It's not so easy.
Really? Not so easy?
Right. Like most of us (and you, too, probably),
whenever I speak my tone of voice is a symphony
of rushes and pauses,
dramatic gestures
and nods,
to emphasize
whatever point I'm making.
So when I write, I try to capture the same kinds
of expressive gymnastics. This means LOTS of
re-writes, after my first draft.
Ultimately, THIS is what I'm aiming for:
I know my writing voice is on target when
I can read my writing ALOUD and it sounds
just like my speaking voice.
And when my friends read that writing voice,
they'll hear me talking right to them, like we're
having our own little face-to-face conversation.
The result? What I'm saying comes across
loud and clear.
Especially when I'm writing about planning
wedding and party music, describing the mood
the music will create.
Even when I'm just thinking about the music
I'm planning, my thoughts are clearer, more
vivid, and more useful when I deliberately think
in terms of my writing voice.
So Here's that Tip I promised:
Whenever YOU write something, READ IT ALOUD.
That's how I test my writing voice. Try it yourself.
Why am I telling you this?
It's all about your writing...
Chances are, like me you're writing all the time.
For business or pleasure, and probably both. Right?
Especially in business, if you hope to create genuine
personal relationships with people. You DO, right?
You write to make a point and hope that your message
comes through clear, sincere, and believable. Right?
How can you make that happen?
I just gave you a hint
for cultivating your writing voice.
Try it yourself.
My own Writing Voice reminds me of my band's music.
Just like my speaking voice, we use our pitch,
tempo, rhythm, and pacing to make our music
expressive, to create the mood we're aiming for.
Listen to this musical "conversation" whenever
you have a chance to hear us in action at a
wedding or a party