Are YOU talking to ME? As if!
- chloeknox30
- Sep 22, 2021
- 3 min read
It's important to understand the value of addressing a person or situation in your writing. If you use a passive voice, your audience is most likely going to leave confused or at least without doing what you want them to do.
When your writing for business, you want your audience to take action. You might want them to click further into a website or make a purchase. In a professional email, you may want someone to consider your resume. In a work email, you may want an employee to make a change to their project.
The point is: YOU are writing for a PURPOSE. That PURPOSE needs ACTION. Don’t let your purpose get lost.
Let me show you something. A statement's meaning doesn't promise the readers interpretation. Look at this example statement, the author's meaning, and how it might be interpreted. Statement: "The closet is an absolute mess. There are so many shoes; they cover the whole floor." What the author is trying to convey: "Your closet is an absolute mess. You have too many shoes; you need to clean and get rid of some of them." Possible interpretation: "The closet is a mess. Someone, not specifically you, should clean the pile of shoes."
This applies to work issues as well. If a boss sends a department-wide email about an issue but doesn't address WHO or HOW the department should fix the issue, the purpose gets lost. Employees in the department may just assume Sally, 3 cubicles down, will fix the problem. In reality, Sally from 3 cubicles down is thinking it's YOUR job to address the email.
*insert Cher's voice* As if! Your boss can't possibly be talking to YOU to fix the problem. Ladies and gentlemen... that, my friends, is how purposes get lost. You use a passive voice, and the conviction of your writing goes straight out the window.
So you're probably wondering "Chloe, what the hell am I supposed to do with this information?"
I'm glad you asked. You are going to apply the 5 steps Josh Bernoff talks about in Writing Without Bullshit.
1. Recognize
Recognize what passive voice is, and what it looks like in your current professional writing.
2. Raise Awareness
Look back at some of your writing and make a note for every passive voice sentence. Notice how prominent it is in your writing.
3. Reconsider
Dive deep into thought to figure out why you wrote that way. What were you trying to hide? Were you trying to not call someone specific out?
4. Rewrite
Change those verbs! Rewrite your text in an active voice. Take charge and make change.
5. Retain
Continue to look for passive voice in your future writing. Make an effort to add this step into your editing process, and if possible tell your editor to watch out for passive voice in your writing.
“Consider the impact of these two phrases: ‘Use the right words’ versus ‘The right words should be used by you.’ The passive voice is wimpy and inefficient. Enchanters use the active voice.” — Guy Kawasaki, Chief Evangelist of Canva
Follow these 5 simple steps and you'll be a better writer in no time. Stop wasting your and your audience's time.
Be direct. Don’t let your purpose get lost.
*Post written for Strategic Message Design Course*
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