Defy Your Grammar Teacher, Write Conversational Content
And this is how it starts. That’s right, that sentence began with a conjunction. Every grammar teacher that I’ve ever had would’ve circled that in red ink and took off a few points for good measure.
Painful but necessary, grammar rules exists not to stifle our desire to express ourselves, but to keep us from sounding ridiculous when we do.
Just think about it.
If our English papers weren’t slashed in red ink years ago, today we’d all be living in a world haunted by misspelled words, double negatives, and poor sentence structure.
But, if there was ever a time to break a few grammar rules, it’s now. Not because we’ve run out of English teachers, but because of the way readers consume content today. And as small business owners, like it or not, we do business in this content-dense environment, where access to content is practically unlimited. So, we’ve got to work harder to get our content in front of our audience.
And it may take breaking a few rules to do it. You’ll at least need to learn how to bend some of the rules to make your content more relatable, easier to read, and fun without comprising its integrity.
The solution? Learning how to write conversational content.
What is Conversational Content?
Writing conversational content isn’t an excuse for sloppy writing. It is, however, permission to start a dialogue between you and your reader. One in which you’re sharing your ideas and expertise and in your mind, envisioning your reader laughing, nodding in agreement, and responding back to you.
And let’s face it. When we have a conversation in real life, our grammar isn’t perfect. But it’s still possible to captivate an audience. Writing conversational content gives you a chance to do that as well.
How can I write conversational content without sounding ridiculous?
By tastefully bending a few of the rules you learned back in grade school, without abandoning the basics. To get you started, consider bending – or breaking – these classics:
- Don’t start a sentence with a conjunction. Starting a sentence with a conjunction occurs frequently, in live conversation and written content. As long as you don’t get carried away, starting a few sentences with conjunctions can make your content sound more natural and improve flow.
- Avoid contractions. Are they informal? Yes. But so is good conversation. So unless you’re writing your resume, contractions can work, in moderation.
- Don’t end a sentence with a preposition. Sometimes ending a sentence with a preposition adds the proper emphasis to the point being made. Again, all things in moderation.
- Always use complete sentences. People tend to speak in fragments. And even some of the best stories have fractured thoughts that lack a subject and verb, but still make an impact. Avoid choppy sentences, but the occasional sentence fragment here or there won’t hurt.
- Don’t use “you” and “I.” The goal of conversational content is to spark a dialogue. Depending on context, using a more familiar tone works to draw your reader in and help establish trust.
The Last Word
Conversational content allows you to introduce the reader to more of your personality. Take this opportunity to make your brand more human and relatable by creating content that doesn’t read like a term paper, is devoid of sales pitches, and will still make your 8th grade English teacher proud.
