First of all, it’s not your fault that you struggle to write conversationally.
With all the essays we wrote in school – primary to tertiary – requiring anything but conversational, it’s not surprising we struggle.
Casual writing wasn’t allowed for all the years we spent in school. So, expecting you to immediately shift from that to conversational writing is not realistic.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, I need you to know that despite all that, it’s possible to make your writing more conversational. You just need to learn the tips, and practice – plenty of practice.
Trust me, you might not get it in a day … but that’s okay, what matters is that you don’t give up until you do.
So, if you’ve always wondered how to make your writing sound like you, I will show you how in this article.
Check them out.
10 Tips to Make Your Writing More Conversational
1. Talk to the reader
Previously when I wanted to help people write more conversationally, I told them to assume they were talking to the reader and write like that.
And I must confess, it works to some extent because some writers will indeed tell you to visualise your reader sitting before you.
But I soon figured out that the main issue with that advice is that people still try to write, which then defeats the purpose of the advice.
So, here is it: DON’T write, TALK.
Okay, I can see you wondering what the heck I’m talking about. “What do you mean I shouldn’t write?”
Well, I’m not asking you not to literally write, I’m simply saying ditch the writing sense – you know, that part of you that wants to string up intelligent words.
Yes, that part; ditch it and talk instead.
When you want to write, open up a document and instead of writing, talk. Trust me, with time, you will see that your writing will be more conversational.
A good tip is to use your usual colloquials, pauses, humor and everything you would when you are talking, and you will be just fine.
Now, a word of caution: saying you should use everything you would when talking does not mean you should cuss or use inappropriate speech if that’s the way you talk.
More accurately, I am saying, talk in writing the way we talk in speech – that’s it.
2. Ask questions
The second tip for conversational writing style is to ask questions.
Now, don’t misunderstand; I’m not saying you should only do that in the article. But throwing in a question or two along the way makes your writing more engaging.
It draws the reader in rather than making it a one-way conversation.
Remember that the goal is to make your writing conversational, so you need to make sure your readers are involved.
A good way to do that is to ask them rhetorical questions. I mean, it has to be; they can’t answer you anyway, except, probably in the comment section.
But either way, it makes your post more engaging because they can now get involved in the discussion.
Making your readers say, “yes, that’s it” or “no, I don’t agree” is not just good for conversational writing style, it is also a good way to keep them reading and interested in your work.
So, win-win.
3. Address your reader
When we wrote essays in school; the idea was to address a topic impersonally. In fact, in my field of history (I am a History graduate), we were told facts are sacrosanct and our personal biases weren’t allowed.
So, we didn’t speak to address the reader; we basically conducted research and reported the facts gathered in digestible form.
But that’s not how it works in marketing. As a copywriter or content writer, you are speaking to real people.
And as much as we may pretend it isn’t, marketing is largely about appealing to people’s emotions. But you can’t do that if you don’t let them see themselves in your copy. Or if you don’t address them personally.
So rather than using impersonal terms like, “one”, or “people”, use “you” and “your.”
Now, bear in mind that I’m not saying these words must never appear in your writing, but they shouldn’t be used in place of second person pronouns.
Conversely, address yourself in first person as well, and not as a vague entity they cannot relate to. That means, use “I” or “we”.
Also Read: Copywriting vs Content Writing: 8 Major Differences
4. Use short and simple sentences
The shorter your sentences, the easier it is for your readers to connect to it.
Think about it: when having a conversation with someone, don’t you have occasional pauses to rest or let a particular thought sink in, first?
I bet you don’t just go on and on without any pause when speaking.
That’s what using shorter sentences does for you. It makes it easy for your readers to flow through the thoughts without complications.
You should also use shorter paragraphs. Not only does it help in this discussion but it also makes your work easy to read.
People will be more encouraged to read short paragraphs than large chunks of words. Plus, the latter could scare people with a short attention span away.
And we don’t want that; we want to get all the readers we can get.
5. Use common words
This is another effect of school essays: the bigger the words, the higher your score.
But with copywriting, you want common words that a layman can understand.
You are not writing to impress here; you are writing to communicate. So, if your readers or target audience don’t understand you, you’ve written bad copy or content.
The top goal for any copy/content is to connect to your audience? But how can you connect to people that don’t understand you?
So, rather than using “magnanimous”, use “generous”. Replace “pulchritudinous” with “beautiful”.
Use common, everyday words – even slangs – as long as your audience uses and understands them.
Also Read: Copywriting and Content Writing: 5 Major Similarities
6. Use contractions
I won’t dwell so much on this as it is quite straightforward.
Contractions give your work a conversational feel because that’s how we speak. We don’t usually speak without them except we’re being fancy.
For instance, take a look at these two sentences.
“I am my father’s daughter; I know because I am his favourite.”
“I’m my father’s daughter; I know because I’m his favourite.”
Which sounds more conversational? Well, that’s it.
There is really no need for much explanation on this. As you can see, contractions help you write conversational content.
So ditch, “I am” for “I’m”, “would not” for “wouldn’t”, “cannot” for “can’t”, and the list goes on.
7. Break Some Grammar Rules
Or more accurately, break the rules that say you can start sentences with conjunctions.
In a copy/content, you can start a sentence with And, Because, Or, and the likes.
Don’t worry, you won’t be arrested by the grammar police. And even if anyone tries to speak up against it, you will know they don’t know what they’re talking about.
Writing in marketing doesn’t follow the same grammar rules we learnt in school.
However, that doesn’t mean you should break all grammar rules, which is why I specified the rules we are talking about in this context.
Still make sure your writing is clear, correct and understandable.
8. Tell stories
“55% of consumers are more likely to remember a story than a list of facts.”
But even without the statistics, it’s quite obvious. That’s why we remember movies and novels more than we do our academic text books.
They excite us and they entertain us.
So, a good way to engage your readers is to tell them stories.
And just before you get scared; you don’t have to tell them personal stories. You can always come up with stories that fit the context – there is a reason fiction exists.
Just don’t give off fiction as true in situations that matter. For instance, if you’re selling a skincare product or food product, you are in a sensitive industry and shouldn’t use a fictional story to lie about your product.
The idea of storytelling is to either use true stories as social proof or try to grab attention with fictional stories. If you need help navigating between the two types, reach out to me.
As a fiction and content writer, I have been able to seamlessly move through the different types for my clients.
9. Don’t be afraid to be funny
I’m not asking you to be Dave Chappelle or tell some unfunny dad jokes. Or maybe you should, sometimes, dad jokes are hilarious and they may be effective, lol.
But really, the point is not to be scared to have a personality. If you are witty and fun, let it show in your writing.
You don’t have to make your readers burst into uncontrollable laughter, but getting them to crack a smile is equally effective.
And it gives your work character.
10. Read aloud to confirm
Again, the curse of school essays – sometimes, even the best of us slip up without noticing.
So when you are done writing, read what you have aloud to confirm that there are no awkward pauses, complicated sentences or text-book language.
By reading aloud, you will be able to catch when you don’t sound natural, so you can improve on it.
Bottom Line
Well, here is where I tell you conversational writing is indispensable when it comes to marketing. But I understand it might not be as seamless for business owners who haven’t gotten a hang of it.
And if you have a business to run, you might not have the time to practice learning this.
Let me take that burden off you; contact me, let’s improve your business content to connect to your audience and increase sales.
