{"id":16586,"date":"2019-07-30T05:04:37","date_gmt":"2019-07-30T10:04:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lisatener.local\/?p=16586"},"modified":"2024-09-30T08:56:35","modified_gmt":"2024-09-30T12:56:35","slug":"how-to-engage-modern-readers-through-voice-style-and-tone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jodieburdette.net\/lisatener\/2019\/07\/how-to-engage-modern-readers-through-voice-style-and-tone\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Engage Modern Readers Through Voice, Style and Tone"},"content":{"rendered":"

Voice, Style, Tone: these tools of the writer can help you engage the modern reader. Ignore recent changes in reading preferences and reader’s needs at your peril!<\/p>\n

Less Time; Less Bandwidth<\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Photo by iam Se7en on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Modern readers are strapped for time. Authors of the 19th and 20th centuries had the luxury of readers who often liked to work hard to understand a work. Working the brain served as entertainment.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, outside of academics, readers want you to make it easy for them. They have less time to read. They often multitask and don’t focus in the same way. And they’re used to being entertained. They also often want to experience something, rather than just be fed instructional information without context, nuance and integration.<\/p>\n

Today’s tips will help you fine tune your voice<\/a>, style and tone to support the modern reader, her habits and her needs.<\/p>\n

[bctt tweet=”5 Style Tips to Make Your Writing Easy for Readers to Understand Quickly” username=”LisaTener”]<\/h3>\n
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    matthew-payne-unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

    Pepper your writing with stories and examples that make information easy to grasp.<\/li>\n

  2. Forget the fancy vocabulary words unless they truly add important nuance to the meaning. Instead, opt for everyday words and simplicity.<\/li>\n
  3. Aim for one idea per sentence. Sentences that attempt to convey multiple ideas require too much parsing. Break up a long, involved sentence into multiple sentences for clarity and ease.<\/li>\n
  4. When you refer to “it” or “them” make sure that it’s clear what “it” refers to. If the most recent noun is something else, consider replacing “it” or “them” with something more specific.<\/li>\n
  5. Aim for shorter chapters and a shorter book. Generally, you’re more likely to attract modern readers with a 200 page book than a 500 page book!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Accessibility Means Tapping into More than Mental Learning<\/h2>\n

    In a recent phone conversation with a client, I pointed out that her manuscript was largely instructional. She asked me, “What’s wrong with instructional?” Nothing. However, if a work is almost all instructional, it can\u00a0 wear the reader down. Pacing helps. Mix the instructional with the tips below.<\/p>\n

    [bctt tweet=”5 Ways to Help Readers Understand, Engage and Integrate” username=”LisaTener”]<\/h3>\n
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      \"woman
      Photo by Eye for Ebony on Unsplash<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      Stories help readers take in more information and integrate it.<\/li>\n

    2. Sensory detail helps bring the material to life.<\/li>\n
    3. Examples help readers apply abstract information more readily.<\/li>\n
    4. Exercises and journaling help readers “own” the information and apply it to their lives.<\/li>\n
    5. Features such as sidebars (for quotations or scientific research, for example),\u00a0 tip lists, images, cartoons, QR codes that connect to video when scanned, white space and other features help break up the text (and the mental energy to process it) and provide a more textured, varied experience that’s easier on the brain.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      [bctt tweet=”Let’s Define Terms: Writing Voice, Style and Tone” username=”LisaTener”]<\/h2>\n

      What do we mean be your writing voice?<\/h3>\n

      \"LisaVoice refers to the characteristics that come through your writing: your personality, the tone and style, how you engage your readers and more. Voice is not necessarily something we can always pin down and people experience voice differently and can harbor varied opinions about a writer’s voice. So, what follows is my take on voice.<\/p>\n

      You may write with an academic voice, which tends to have complex sentences, more abstract thoughts, passive voice and a preference to certain sentence structures.<\/p>\n

      Or you may write with a more conversational voice meant for a trade audience, with shorter sentences, more active verbs, and more varied sentence structures. A conversational voice can tend to have more humor or entertainment than an academic voice (though I am generalizing here).<\/p>\n

      What do we mean by your writing style?<\/h3>\n
      \"elements
      Picture from the New York Times<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

      You convey style<\/a> by:<\/p>\n