Writing tip #1 - Show me, don’t tell me

Photo by Pineapple Supply Co. on Unsplash

Writing persuasively is all about getting your audience to feel something. Here’s how you do it

Sometimes it seems like every other post on LinkedIn starts with an expression of emotion like: ‘I’m delighted to announce’ or ‘thrilled to share’. This makes sense, since this is the platform where we’re all supposed to shout about our achievements, and build our networks. Neither of which are bad things. And I don’t doubt that when we write such posts, we really are delighted and thrilled with what we’ve done.

The problem is, it rarely comes across that way.

Let me explain why.

Posting that you are ‘delighted’ breaks a fundamental rule of writing, which is show me, don’t tell me. Showing me how you feel, through a combination of the words you use, and the way you say them, is much more powerful than telling me: I’m happy, or I’m sad. 

This is the tone of voice you cultivate in your writing, and it can be shaped through a variety of different tools including punctuation, sentence length, upper and lower case, emojis, italics, bold, ellipsis…

All to convey an overall feeling to your audience.

This is especially important in written pieces with a personal touch (social media, leadership blog posts, CEO statements etc), as it enables you to communicate in an authentic way with your audience. In other words, it enables them to connect with you - and once you have their empathy you can win their trust. 

How to flex your tone of voice

Writing in short sentences? 

Using punchy words?

This can indicate that you’re feeling angry, annoyed, or passionate about something. 

Writing like this helps to show that passion to your audience.

To really get your point across. 

And hopefully - bring about change.

Writing much more languidly, in flowing prose, with more descriptive language? Maybe you’re taking a chance to reflect on an issue that’s been on your mind for a while... It might be that you’d like your readers’ input on this topic? A thoughtful and inquisitive tone of voice like this can be a great way of starting open conversations.

Using exclamation marks?! You’re probably happy! Or at least surprised! 

Maybe you won an award at a fancy event! An emoji or two adds to the lighthearted tone 😀

…

These are very forced examples, but I hope they go some way towards illustrating my point. 

Tone of voice can be a tricky thing to get right in writing, so it’s often worth getting a second pair of eyes on any important communications to make sure you’re coming across as intended.

A last word on delighted

Another problem with words like ‘delighted’ is that they’re not what the vast majority of us would say in real life. 

It’s a bit formal, like a wedding invitation:

‘Person A and person B are delighted to request your company at their wedding’

Ok sure, and thanks for the invite, but I’ll have to take your word for it…

And when writing with emotion, we don’t want people to have to take our word for it. We want them to feel it. 

So remember, for authentic personal communication through writing: show me - don’t tell me. And don’t write anything you wouldn’t actually say in real life!