From the course: Writing in Plain English (2016)

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Find the right voice

Find the right voice

From the course: Writing in Plain English (2016)

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Find the right voice

“

- Yes, you have a speaking voice but your writing also has a voice. Let's first briefly examine the speaking voice. How do you get people to listen to you? Or what makes you want to listen to other people? Voice tone for one thing. Is it a pleasant tone? A boring tone? A confusing tone? The words say one thing but the tone sends a different message and another element that makes you listen intently or stop listening completely are the words used. Do you understand them? Are effective pauses used? And do the ideas connect clearly and smoothly? You not only listen to the words and tone. You watch the speaker's body language, the metacommunication. All the non verbal cues. Tone of voice, body language, gestures, facial expression that carry meaning that either support or contradict what the speaker's saying. Has anyone ever said to you, it's not what you said, it's how you said it? If so, he was referring to your metacommunication message. So how does a speaking voice relate to a writing…

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