What Does It Mean to Find and Use Your Voice?
We are all unique. Each of us has a different calling and an innate desire to make our mark in the world. To do this you must learn how to find and use your voice.
Whether your calling is creative, inspirational, educational, scientific… your ‘voice’ is your vehicle to share what you have to contribute.
We find our voices through self discovery and by embracing a willingness to express ourselves.
Your Why is the root; your Voice is the route!
In the realm of communication, your voice is not only how you speak but also how you write.
Using Your Voice Effectively
To use your voice effectively in writing, there are fundamentals to consider:
- the audience for your message
- the purpose of your message
- the delivery format of your message
Your Audience
If you want your message to be received, this is step one. Who are you ‘speaking’ to?
If your audience is children, your message will be very different than if you’re writing for adults. And writing for a technically savvy audience will be different than writing for a general one.
Does your audience use specific terms that are commonly understood among them? Are they more comfortable with a casual tone, versus a formal one?
Always consider who you’re writing for before you begin to craft your message.
The Purpose of Your Message
This is step two. What are you trying to accomplish with your message?
Being very clear in your own mind about the why of your communication will allow you to craft a very clear message.
Even if your message is layered with a primary and secondary purpose, you need to be clear on what those layers are so your audience will understand what you’re telling them.
If you’re wobbly on the purpose of your message, your message will be wobbly, and thus ineffective.
The Delivery of Your Message
Finally, there are many ways to deliver a message. The delivery format you use will determine how you write.
For example, your writing will be different if you’re writing a blog, or a book, or a letter, or instructions, or poetry.
Because people scan content online rather than read it, there are best practices for writing online such as breaking up long passages of text with lists, images, and block quotes.
You won’t use these same practices if you’re writing a novel that will be published and printed.
Ask yourself how your message will be delivered to your audience and consider how this will affect how you write.
Developing Your Voice
The best way to develop your writing voice is to write. Often. (Read about how to Establish A Writing Practice for a powerful exercise to get you started.)
Practice writing for different audiences, for different purposes and in different formats. The more you write, the more comfortable you’ll become with your unique voice and the better your writing will be.
Another way to develop your voice is to work with an editor. An editor’s job is to help you hone your skill by providing useful feedback. It’s impossible to be objective about our own writing and an editor provides that perspective. They’ll see things you don’t, but by working with them, you’ll begin to see those things and your writing will improve.
Learn the types of things an editor can do for you.
How Can We Help?
We support writers with education through our blog posts, courses, and support groups. We also provide writing and editing services to help you hone your message.
Contact us to learn more.