I love travelling…
I don’t see aeroplanes as flying Petri dishes of communicable diseases. To me, they’re the exciting start to a big adventure.
I love hotel rooms with expansive views across the city.
Breakfast of great coffee and croissants before a day of exploration. Then, a relaxing glass of wine or two at the end of a busy day.
Travelling lets me explore exotic places. Eat interesting, delicious food. Relax in the warmth of the Mediterranean sun, basking like a lizard.
These are my pleasures. Or they were until the world fell off a cliff. We had to forsake the joy of travel to keep our friends and families safe from a rampaging disease we didn’t understand.
Now the worst appears to be over. The politicians think they’re back in control … and life is heading towards a new, more cautious normal. So, we can travel again.
My daughter renewed our wanderlust with an extravagant Christmas gift. Four days in Rome for my wife and I to soak up some culture and overindulge in excellent pasta and ice cream.
We spent our mornings wandering the streets of Rome, going where the mood took us.
Put them on your bucket list if you’ve not experienced the Trevi Fountain or the Coliseum. You won’t be disappointed.
St Peters Square is beautiful. As is the Sistine Chapel, at least the outside was, we hadn’t bought tickets and the queue to get in was ridiculous. But to be honest, just walking around and exploring was enough.
Every time you turned a corner, there was something jaw-dropping.
An ivy-covered apartment building, sitting cool in the shade.
A distant view of St Peters Basilica. Or just about every building that looked like it had been standing since the dawn of time.
I was, and still am, addicted.
In early afternoon the heat built. Most days were over 30 degrees centigrade, even in May.
We retired to a restaurant to drink beer and eat paninis. Enjoying a couple of lazy hours discussing what we had seen and people-watching.
I know this isn’t unique to Italy, as similar happens across the Mediterranean …
But have you noticed how southern Europeans talk with their hands as well as their voices?
Gesticulations with every conversation. Hands moving, fingers pointing, bobbing heads, weaving bodies and smiling faces.
It’s street theatre on every corner and in every cafe. It’s beautiful to watch.
But, for conversational writers, using anything other than words on a page presents a problem. When you write for your readers, they can only see the words you write and don’t have any visual cues. Obvious, I know, but worth mentioning.
So, your words need to work harder, to be precise and clear.
You need to compensate for the lack of gestures and facial expressions.
Thing is, if you want to write conversationally, you have to remove the fluff.
Try recording a conversation when you’re speaking to a friend, then listen to the umms and ahs etc. If you transcribed the conversation, chances are it’d almost be gibberish. Unfinished sentences, repeated words and a baffling, unclear path.
So here are four things you need to remember if you want your conversational writing to be engaging, empathetic and effective.
Thing 1
KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid (me, not you, obviously).
Try to use short, simple sentences and lots of white space.
Long sentences are exhausting to read. They need a level of concentration that will switch your readers off.
If the effort to read exceeds what they expect to get back, they won’t bother.
Also, until your reader knows your words are worth reading, they’ll skim.
Use lots of subheadings that’ll give them the gist of what you’re saying, even if they only read the subheads.
If they like the gist, chances are they’ll take the time to read the whole piece.
Thing 2
Clear, not clever - The only person big words impress is the author.
I don’t want to be forced to pick up a dictionary every other sentence, so I know what the hell you’re talking about.
It’s far easier to hit delete or keep scrolling.
You need to be clear, easy to understand and engaging. Use your words to invoke emotion and describe what you can see, hear or feel.
Remember, your reader can’t see you. They only have your words, no hand gestures or facial expressions.
Try using the Hemingway Editor. It’ll help you improve the readability of your writing.
Hemingway judges your text's “grade level” using the Automated Readability Index. It's a reliable algorithm used since the days of electronic typewriters.
What their measurement gauges is the lowest education needed to understand your writing. For example, despite his adult audience, Ernest Hemingway's work scores as low as 5th grade.
Hemingway Editor forces you to think about your word choice. Then write more simply and clearly.
Thing 3
Write for one person - When you have a conversation, you’re talking to one person. That’s how you need to write.
Imagine your talking to a friend. Telling them about the topic you’re writing about.
You want to bring it to life for them. Make it exciting and draw them in. That’s your whole focus.
If your imaginary friend enjoys your writing and learns from it, so will everyone else.
Read your work aloud to check it feels engaging and flows nicely.
Thing 4
Throw out the grammar rule book - Writing at school and college, you had to follow the rules.
Now you’ve got to unlearn everything you were taught.
Preposition at the end of a sentence? Who cares.
Starting sentences with and, but or because? Go for it.
Contractions? Love ‘em. When you speak, you use couldn’t, don’t, and they’ll. So why not when you write?
You can’t write like your reader's best friend if it’s stiff and formal.
Conversation isn’t stiff and formal; it’s relaxed and fun. That’s what you should aim for.
Another tool I use is Grammarly. In many ways, it’s a pain in the ass.
But it’s good at spotting if you’ve missed a word out.
Also, I’m crap with commas and semicolons, always forget them.
Grammarly let’s me know where they should be.
Finally, it'll correct you if you’ve messed up a spelling.
Most of the time, you can nod, smile and ignore it. But it’s great at catching the stuff that matters.
Bonus Thing
Storytelling - Everyone loves a story.
You want to entertain and engage? Tell a story.
No matter how dull the industry you’re writing about, tell a short story, and you’ll bring the subject to life.
Stories release a soup of chemicals into your brain. These chemicals, cortisol, dopamine, and oxytocin, surface at different points in the story.
First, there’s Cortisol. It’s produced if something warrants our attention. It keeps us focused and aware.
Next comes Dopamine. It helps with ‘arousal’ or pleasure, rewarding us for sticking with the story.
Finally, Oxytocin. The wonder drug of storytelling. It promotes prosocial, empathetic behaviour.
Oxytocin, combined with Cortisol and Dopamine, helps persuade us to take action.
Stories are powerful. Use with caution.
That’s it for this week. Next time we’ll have a look at persuading your readers to open your emails.
PS I used the Hemingway Editor to improve this article and keep it clear and engaging. The readability is grade 4.
I haven’t experienced the American school system, so I had to Google what age range that meant.
This article could be understood and enjoyed by a nine or ten-year-old.
Food for thought.