“Good day to you! I would like to put to light the benefits of when you write like you talk or writing content in a conversational manner. Now, if you can allow me to explain why copy in a casual manner is better for you……”
ZZZzzzzzz. And we all just dozed off!
If you had to listen to somebody talking like this to you, I bet you would have the same reaction.
The same applies to content. There is this weird phenomenon known as sitting down at the computer, and as soon as people pick up a keyboard, for some reason, they go into boring mode.
Let’s go back to when we all were in school. We had a really boring teacher and talked the monotonous talk and bored us to sleep in no time.
But other teachers taught classes that weren’t exciting subjects, but they were fantastic at it and kept you on the hook.
What was the difference?
The not-so-boring teachers were more engaging. They talked to us more casually, told incredible stories, told us stories that related to us personally and in a language that is the listener’s language.
Here is the thing, communication is simply transferring information from one brain into another. That’s it!
Would you get that information into someone’s head through a really dull legal document?
Or something really fun and interesting to read?
What Is Conversational Content?
Conversational content is the term used to describe text content that has been written with a specific goal of being conversational. This type of content is often used in marketing and social media, as it can create a more personal connection with the reader or viewer.
Conversational content is also thought to be more engaging, as it encourages interaction and feedback. When creating conversational content, it is important to keep in mind your audience and how you can best engage them. Be sure to use a friendly and approachable tone and avoid jargon or complex language.
Your Role As A Content Creator
Content creators principally have just one role, getting the message across. That is why it is always a great idea to write like you talk.
When content creators write like they talk, they naturally use everyday words that real humans use in honest conversations.
Using the language of your readers is a great way to build connections. This happens because you appear more human to your reader than a big corporation or a pension scheme.
People are more likely to trust you.
For example, if I ask you two questions:
What is the exact nature of your occupation from which you receive your earnings?
What is your job?
Now, which one of these questions you are more likely to answer. If we look at the first question, it includes words that make perfect sense, but nobody talks that way
In our everyday life, if nobody talks like that, content creators should not write like that. If you write like you talk, people understand you quickly and get the engagement you are looking for.
Related Content: How is content essential for digital marketing?
Creating Conversational Content
People are most of the time on the internet to look for quick information.
Not only this, when people are online there are so many different distractions it makes losing focus relatively easy.
If you are a content creator and the main aim of your job is to bring people towards you by engaging them.
Now, imagine the attention you would get if you were using complex words. Your blog sounds like a textbook or a journal article.
In simple words, if people can’t relate, they don’t trust. If they don’t trust, they lose focus, and this is something you can’t afford as a content creator in this day and age.
So, here a few handy writing tips for you to use so that you can make you’re writing more conversational and stop sounding like the teacher from the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off:
Study The Reader’s Profile
When you write like you talk or start a conversation, it is essential to reference the reader’s profile before you start writing.
Let’s say you are writing for gardener’s blog. Think about the type of gardeners that you are writing for. Are you writing for high-end gardeners producing on a mass scale, or are you writing for the quick hack gardeners, the do-it-your-self home gardeners?
The next step is to get into your audience, their interests, how they look at information, and the type of information most relevant to them.
If you are producing content for mass-scale gardeners, they are looking for the right kind of quantities for chemicals, and everything needs to be automated and calculated. This content would involve more technical stuff, and the price would not be a problem.
On the other hand, your home gardeners are not looking for the most commercially practical bloom. They are looking for cheap, easy, and achievable solutions.
Now, if you notice, essentially, the blog is supposed to cater to gardening needs. Still, when we analyze the audience we are writing for, the scope, the level of detail, technicalities, everything changes, and so should the way you write.
Engage The Right Way
Suppose I ask you not to think about work.
You would pause and instantly start to imagine your workplace, the smell of the environment, the people working with you, and your office table.
The funny thing about the mind is that it can’t stop thinking, and so content creators who can tap into the power of visualization can reap good engagement.
When a question is asked, it takes up the entire thought process of the brain. When a person’s brain thinks about the answer to the question, the brain can’t think about anything else.
So questions, but the right questions have the power to entice and make visualization happen.
This is the most incredible tool a content creator can have. To use the power of imagination, when the audience starts to visualize what you are saying to them, it becomes challenging for them to turn away from you.
Be Precise And To The Point
Longer sentences are likely to be more complex, more subordinate clauses, more propositions, and so on.
This means more work for the reader and more mental work. The longer your sentences, the harder it takes to read and the longer it takes to embed the information inside the brain.
As a content creator, it is your best skill to break down hard-to-understand concepts and present them in the way your reader understands.
If we notice, when we are talking to people face to face, the process is a two-step one. Firstly we search our brain for words and then compile them to fit the set of information we are about to deliver.
Now imagine if conversations involved long sentences without breaks at all. The conversation would get difficult to have in the first place because we are thinking about compiling a complex sentence, and then we will have to also make sense of what we are saying.
By using shorter sentences we reduce the brains encoding and delivery time. The same goes for the person who is at the reviving end of the conversation. If complex sentences are thrown at you, your time to understand, imagine and compile a response increases.
Don’t Use Complicated Words
The same principle applies here. Difficult words take time to pronounce. Once we pronounce them, we start to understand them, and when we understand them, then the imagination begins.
Content creators need to reduce the time for encoding and decoding information. Using complex words does not help to evoke trust because 80% of the conversations people have don’t involve difficult words and phrases.
Your readers have difficulty trusting you if the words you use in your writing are alien to them and are rarely used in their normal conversational space.
Business growth is all about community building, and a business produces content to tap into a particular community. The community itself has its own culture, trend reception, gestures, terminologies, and failing to understand them will never result in the engagement you want.
Tell It Like A Story
Write with your personality or personal touch. Include your values, morals, and goals in your content so that people can connect with you. Use storytelling to bring out new ideas that connect with your target audience.
Stories are about connection, a flow, and a final destination. In every piece that you write, insert the element of storytelling. Good stories ensure a flow and a connection. When the reader is adequately hooked with the story, it will be tough to take away attention from that, and when you have a reader’s full attention, you know that the piece you delivered was successful.
Your Role As A Content Creator
It is about how we adjust the way we communicate, depending on our audience. The way we speak to our boss in the office is not how we will talk to our kids in the evening.
We have to adjust:
- The language
- The words that we use
- The structure and the manner of delivery
Writing conversationally reduces barriers, signals empathy, and gives a sense of connection.
