TwoLittleFishes Web design blog

Conversational style

Writing on the Web should be more like a telephone conversation than a report.

Why use a conversational style?

The original purpose of the Web was to share things, and that is still what it’s used for today. Many people are part of communities on the Web, whether it’s Facebook or a specialist site about our hobbies and interests. This means that we expect a more personal and conversational tone than some other forms of communication.

What is a conversational style?

Make writing on the Web more personal and conversational, by using I, we, you and us.

Express yourself in a more personal way.

I have made a mistake instead of a fault has become apparent.

Use an active voice.

I have taken steps to put it right instead of steps have been taken to put it right.

Telephone conversation

Be careful with being conversational though, because the Web is not a face to face conversation. When we talk to someone face to face, the words only account for about 10% of the conversation between us. Without the extra visual cues it is easy to misunderstand our words. When we have a conversation over the telephone though, we don’t have those visual cues.

So try to write the way you would have a telephone conversation.

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Tags: Writing for the Web

This entry was posted on Friday, February 13th, 2009 at 8:09 am and is filed under Writing for the Web.