Writing a message to someone can be a daunting task for any of us. When we write to someone, we are trying to convey a message that is aimed at making a good impression of us or getting the other person to do something for us.  And that something is usually very important. It is also the reason why we write.

Historically, writing is considered a higher form of communication than talking to someone in the ordinary way. What makes it even more difficult is the fact that we probably only have one shot at getting the other person to understand and trust us. If we fail, it could mean the end for us and our future plans. Sound cruel? It is. But that’s life.

But there is a solution, or more precisely a technique, that can help us win the trust of our audience without much effort and with greater success. All we have to do is sound more casual. But how can we do that?

Advantages of the conversational writing style

One of the techniques used today to give your writing a casual, relaxed feel is to use a conversational style.

A conversational writing style means that you write the way you would speak, even if that means stretching or breaking a few grammar rules. If you want to write something that will be read, you should use a colloquial writing style. For example, “you all” or “gonna” or “wanna.” Unless you are writing a legal document or are still in school, a more informal style is probably fine. It has proven so successful that conversational English has now become the language of business, and it is definitely the language of the internet.

What are the implications of using a conversational writing style?

When you write in a conversational style, you immediately build a relationship with your audience. A conversational style also makes it easier for your readers to empathise with you as a real person rather than someone they can not relate to.

It comes across as more believable to most readers. And if you use a conversational style, you are more likely to write in your own natural voice, come across as less strained, and more trustworthy.

It’s also important to note that conversational English is easier for most readers to understand. That is, your conversational style conveys your message much better.

Using conversational English can be easy for some people, but not for everyone. For example, people who find it difficult to adapt the tone of a conversation to the social context sometimes have difficulty expressing themselves in a style that automatically matches that of their conversation partner.

Tips on how to adapt to your audience through conversational writing

Below are some tips on how to use the conversational writing style so you do not sound dry or impersonal. Remember that our job is to appeal to an audience, and we can do that by delivering our message to the audience in a more fluid way.

Use the basics of conversational skills:

• Know your audience – ask yourself who your audience is and how you would speak to your audience if you were talking to them in person.

• Tell a story – the story is critical to your success – the story needs to be fluid and delivered in a way that makes the reader feel like they are talking to their best friend.

• Write the way you speak – listen to your voice when you speak and try to imitate it when you write. You can try writing in the second person.

• Use the active voice – use action verbs and have a strong tone of voice. Express an action, whether physical or mental. For example, “act,” “catch,” “give,” etc.

• Write in short sentences – your text is easier to read and conveys your message more effectively.

• Use words that are easy to understand – use words that are easy to follow.

• Use contractions in sentences to make the tone more casual. For example, “you’re” instead of “you are.”

• Get to the point – too many words will put a reader off. Avoid being abrupt and aggressive. Stay calm and conversational.

Remember, if you can read your text aloud and it flows, you have done your job of writing conversationally and will have no trouble getting your message across to your audience.

The smart tools that help us translate our message into a conversational writing style

We want people with conversational difficulties to have better and more fulfilling social experiences, better employment prospects and enjoy a higher quality of life. To this end, assistive technologies are used that can support and enhance people’s communication regardless of their social skills and language proficiency.

One of the smart tools that can help us achieve the above goals is InstaText. InstaText is a state-of-the-art writing and editing tool for businesses for academic and personal use. It edits and corrects your texts using sophisticated artificial intelligence technology, making your communication understandable and easy to follow.

InstaText gives you the conversational skills you need

In addition to the overall ease of use of this tool, users can now set a different conversational style in InstaText’s interface. Or as InstaText calls it, “formality customization.” This feature, among others, helps people who have trouble with conversation, find their own communication style and keep the conversation flowing. If you do not have to worry about saying the wrong thing, that’s certainly a good thing.

It’s safe to say that correspondence has become more convenient and stress-free these days with smart tools like InstaText.

InstaText rewrites your texts in a way that preserves your authentic and unique voice, which is valuable for any written content. The Language settings feature helps you adjust your English dialect, preserve your writing style and make you sound like a native speaker. Want to sound more informal? Just set the Formality setting to “informal” and your writing will become conversational. Yes, it’s that simple. 🙂

Using InstaText in combination with dictation

Want to take your conversational writing to the next level? One way is to write articles with dictation. Yes, you can do it with speaking instead of typing all the time. This can make the writing process much faster and more enjoyable.

There are several tools that let you do just that, such as VoiceIn and Dictanote. Your voice can even write directly into the InstaText editor if you want.

It takes some skill to master writing by speaking. But the end result may surprise you in a very positive way. And it will probably already be written in a conversational style. With InstaText, you can then quickly turn your voice-written draft into a writing masterpiece.

Join InstaText community

Start using InstaText: free trial is available at https://instatext.io.

“This tool is outstanding, exceeded my expectations. I’m used to using Grammarly but Instatext is a more thorough tool and comes up with much better suggestions for rewrites. A game changer for editing.”

— Stephan Skovlund, Business Consulting

“It has been incredibly liberating to not agonize over every last word, secure in the knowledge that the AI has my back and will smooth out the occasional rough edge. That freedom alone boosted my daily word counts by more than 10%, which is gold dust!”

— Matthew Siege, Writer

“I am a translator and proofreader by profession and have tried many editing tools. It’s not an exaggeration to say that all the other apps I’ve used so far don’t come close to InstaText. It is literally innovative and revolutionary and has taken the editing game to a new level, leaving other competitors in the dust.”

— Dr. Ghodrat Hassani, Researcher in Translation Studies