Last night I was watching Grey’s Anatomy and Alex Karev was trying to practice his speech to present to the hospital board because he wanted everything to be just right but Meredith was imposing with her sisterly drama.
I was sad that he did not get on the board. He is the epitome of a person who has overcome every obstacle he has been faced and to be filled with great confidence because Yang had confidence in him. Well. Shonda, I hope you give Karev something soon (that’s another post).
And then there is Fitz. He is constantly working on a speech he wrote and it has to be just perfect for the American people on Scandal, otherwise there would be no scandalous White House debacles and what would Olivia do exactly. Never mind Jake and Daddy Pope.
Ok. Back to the point.
Karev and Fitz were writing. You write too. And just like them, you want your communication to be perfect for your audience. You want to nail your point. You want to invoke feeling. You want to move your people into action.
I know what happens though. You write a piece for your audience and you bat your lashes a thousand times proofreading and editing because you want every word to be perfect for your audience.
You read it ONE. MORE. TIME.
It looks great and you hit publish.
Then you inhale and you forget to breathe. You notice that you missed a word here or these words do not make any sense but they sure as heck did when you read it the first 500 times. Now you wonder how many people have seen this already?
I know the feeling.
It happened to me too. Until I found this powerful editing tool that helped me get that perfect written piece and not feel the anxiety of “OMGOSH, I can’t believe I did not catch that.”
Are you ready to hear it?
Voice.
Not your writing voice, not your editing voice but your actual voice.
Read your work out loud. Sit up tall in your seat and read aloud.
Does it sound like you? Are those your words or do they sound stuffy and stiff?
Then, have someone else read your work out loud and listen. Just listen.
Are your words flowing well from their lips? Did they stumble on your words? Did they pause because they didn’t understand something?
Hearing your words being spoken gives you a different perspective and allows you to envision what your reader will see, feel, and do.
We are trained to skim words on a page rather than absorb them and their meaning. When you read aloud, you are not able to hop around. You must follow one word after another and truly determine if what you wrote makes any sense. You may realize your meaning did not flow as well as you had thought. Because sometimes, our minds think faster than our fingers are pedaling on the keyboard and our meaning is lost.
When you hear your words being read aloud, the words are more than words. It is about the pace and presentation of the words. You are able to hear from a different perspective for writing clarity and appreciate the use of your chosen words.
Once you begin reading your work aloud, you will begin to create writing rhythms in your head that will speak when you write. It will uplifting and you will smirk, with enjoyment, as you write.
Challenge: For the next piece you write, read it aloud and let me know how it goes. Got a tip for me, share it below (I am all about amping up my skills too).
From my fingertips to your eyes