You’re feeling bleugh. It’s raining. You just want to drag your duvet onto the settee, watch Queer Eye on Netflix and eat carbs. But you’ve got a lovely client who’s counting on you to make their communications feel positive and inspiring. So here are six quick tips for making your writing upbeat…
1. Inject some energy and pace
Long sentences and long words can make a communication feel heavy and slow. To make your writing feel breezy and easy, ditch some of the longer words and make your sentences shorter. Also, try sprinkling in some sentence fragments. Like this.
2. Frame it positively
Don’t describe something by what it isn’t. Find a really positive way to say what you are. We didn’t make the top 10, but we did make it into the top 20… can become, We’re proud to share that we’re ranked 15th in the whole world. If you see a negative, flip it so that it becomes positive.
3. Engage
Imagine you’re at a party and someone comes over to talk to you. Instead, they talk at you – about their work, their opinions, what they’re doing this weekend. They’re not having a conversation, they’re on transmit. You’d spend the rest of the night avoiding them. So don’t be that person when you’re writing. Don’t just keep telling your audience things. Ask them questions. Look at the issue from their point of view.
4. Show, don’t tell
When we’re feeling a bit bleugh, our creativity feels like it’s crawled into a cave. So it can be easy to write report-style instead of pulling out all the stops. But reports can be dull. So drag your creativity out, and instead of writing, Our service is first rate and our spa members enjoy a wide range of comforts and privileges, try something like, Slip into a warm, comforting gown. Breathe in gentle scents of eucalyptus and sweet birch, and feel your shoulders relax. Steam room? Heated pool? Sleep pod? Everything else can wait… this is your time…
5. Stick to your tone of voice
Being positive doesn’t mean suddenly adopting the personality of a hyperactive kids’ TV presenter. Instead, it’s expressing an organisation’s tone of voice at its most positive.
6. Be careful with exclamation marks
Beware using exclamation marks to show that your copy is happy!! You shouldn’t have to rely on a sprinkling of exclamation marks to show how upbeat and positive the message is!!! Just calm it down, write well – and maybe limit yourself to one exclamation mark per piece. There, that’s better.