Write and Speak(?) for the Ear

Write and Speak(?) for the Ear

You and I may not aspire to write great books or make great speeches. But almost all of us want something to happen when we write or speak. And- the more we tailor our words for the ears of readers Contd...

You and I may not aspire to write great books or make great speeches. But almost all of us want something to happen when we write or speak. And- the more we tailor our words for the ears of readers and listeners- the greater our chances of getting the results we want.

By writing for the ear- I mean that spoken words can have more power than written words. After all- when we have important messages- we prefer to deliver them verbally and personally- rather than by sending a written message.

Of course- it/' s not practical or possible to deliver every message verbally. But- if we can capture some of the nuances of the spoken word we can increase the power of our messages. When we write for the ear- our writing undergoes some subtle but important changes. Our words- sentences- and paragraphs change in several important ways.

Consider the number of pauses that occur when we speak. Most of us pause often- more often than when we write. To capture those pauses- use commas or one of the other /' slowing/' punctuation marks- such as colons and semicolons.
Writing for the ear also means shorter sentences. And even fragments of sentences. As you can imagine- speech tends to greater spontaneity than written expression- which means shorter sentences and more fragments.

Many of the same principles hold when we make formal speeches or presentations. Especially if we speak from prepared notes.

Whatever we say- when we speak publicly- has to go in through listeners/' ears. And so- if you/' ll allow me to belabor the obvious- we need to write speeches for listeners/' ears- not our mouths.

You can call on many quick and easy techniques. For example- use short words whenever possible. Words such as /' many/' rather than /' numerous/' ; /' use/' rather than /' utilize/' ; and /' need/' rather than /' require/' .
You can also speak for the ear by using common words rather than jargon or technical words. Step back from your speech- after writing it- and ask yourself if you use words that a child will understand.

We also want vivid words- words that fire up our imagination- that paint new images on the canvases of readers/' minds. Descriptive words that convey action and emotion- words that drive ideas into our heads.

Use active verbs and not passive verbs. Banish words like /' is/' - and /' are/' . Also- check for the word /' being/' and rewrite to get rid of it. Bring in verbs that do something.
Now that you/' ve got the words you want- put them into short sentences. One short sentence. Followed by another short sentence. But- every once in while add a longer sentence for variety and to reduce the chances of boring your audience. And- keep the ideas simple within those long sentences.

I/' m biased- I know. After spending the better part of a decade writing and reading radio news copy- I think it/' s a good idea to write for the ear.

Try it for yourself. Write something- read it out loud- and ask yourself about the effect it/' s likely to have on readers. Re-write as necessary- and read it aloud again. Repeat the process a few times. By the time you finish you should have a well-crafted piece of writing- even if no one ever reads it aloud or hears it spoken.

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