Connect with a Conversational Tone

After completing this unit, you’ll be able to:

• Explain how a conversational tone engages and retains readers.
• Describe two factors that inform an appropriate tone of voice.
• Write with the right amount of humor that works for everyone.

Engage with Your Audience

People love telling stories, it’s part of our human nature. We like sharing our ideas, helping others learn, and entertaining a crowd with an exciting or funny tale. When you tell a story, not only do you want people to listen, you want to be understood. And most of the time you want your audience to respond in some way. It can be as simple as a laugh or as serious as a call to action.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re trying to teach someone a new skill or telling the world about a new product. Whatever the story, you’re more likely to get the response you want if your audience feels connected and engaged with your content. In this badge you learn how to make that connection by writing conversationally. That means choosing the right tone of voice for the right time. You’re even allowed to have a little fun along the way by sprinkling in some humor.

Keeping your audience engaged also means structuring your content so that it’s easy to digest. Big blocks of text are not user friendly. A little manicuring can turn an overgrown tangle of words into a beautiful walking garden of ideas.

Also in this badge, we give you some tips and tricks to make your writing process a little easier and a lot more effective. Before you know it, you’ll be writing the kind of content that really connects.

Setting the Right Tone

In the real world, we change our tone of voice all the time depending on the situation. You can show enthusiasm, express concern, or warn off danger, all in the same conversation just by changing your tone. Yet many writers are taught to keep business-related content formal, stripping away any personality. The result ends up dry and difficult to get through. But it doesn’t have to be that way!

In many situations, you can and should write content that’s expressive, that uses the same tones of voice you would use when speaking to a friend. As one study found, websites that use casual, conversational, and enthusiastic tones led to greater perceived brand trustworthiness and desirability. Also, a welcoming tone makes your content more appealing and accessible to a wider audience, so your message spreads further. And if readers feel welcome, they’re more likely to come back when you publish your next piece of content.

So how casual can you get, exactly? Well, just like real life, it depends on the situation. Imagine you see a toddler pulling on a table cloth, drawing a vase right up to the table’s edge. What would you say, and how would you say it? Probably something direct, like, “Woah, stop pulling!” Now if the vase wasn’t there, you might use more gentle language. Different circumstances, different delivery.

There are a lot of ways to affect the tone of your writing. Do you choose words that are crisp and direct, or do you use more flowing language? Is it better to be warm and emotive, or neutral and even? When should you be informal and conversational, and when should you be more professorial? The answers depend on two important factors.

• What’s at stake? Is your audience trying to do something that has real consequences and requires a lot of work to fix if they make the wrong move? Whether it’s a vase or a database, let’s make sure nothing breaks.
• How does your audience feel at the moment? Are they in a playful or curious mood? Or are they currently frustrated because something isn’t working as expected? You have to put yourself in their shoes; imagine how they’ll receive your message under the circumstances.

The mix of these two factors gives us a whole spectrum of tones to choose from. At one end, you have content for live events and social media posts. For the audience, excitement is high and stakes are low. Lighthearted, informal language is expected.

Somewhere in the middle is a tutorial that includes practice work. You can have fun, use inclusive words like “we” and “us,” and encourage progress with affirmations. Contractions are OK too. But remember: Stakes are higher because now your audience is putting effort into learning something new. Readers may feel apprehension as they dive into an unfamiliar subject area. So keep your writing mostly focused on getting things done.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are times when formal language is best. Error messages, and delivering bad news should be concise and neutral. Save the jokes for when your audience isn’t frustrated. Also, a formal, straightforward tone is appropriate when delivering highly technical or complicated concepts. Give learners a steady table when they’re trying to build a mental construct.

Finally, it’s OK to shift tones in the middle of sharing your story. The mere fact that you go from casual to serious can tell your audience, “Hey, what I’m about to say has higher stakes, so take it to heart.” The opposite is true, too. Levity shows that the hard work is done, and it’s OK to relax.

Choosing the right tone is subjective. It can help to write as though you’re helping a friend seated right next to you. Remember, you’re writing for them. What do they want to get out of your content?

Weigh the stakes, think like your audience, and you’ll find the right tone for the right moment.

Humor: The Frosting on Your Content Cake

Humor is one of those things that’s incredibly subjective. You can never please all of the people all of the time. Even so, jokes, silly scenarios, and quirky turns of phrases still have a place in conversational writing. An unexpected moment of delight can be what keeps someone engaged when they might’ve otherwise given up. And humor is such a core part of human interaction, to remove it entirely would be conspicuous. So go ahead, be funny!

Just not too funny.

Humor is like icing on a cake: It’s great, but too much ruins the experience. The right amount keeps readers hooked, enticing them to come back for seconds. But constantly distracting with humor slows the pace of delivering actual information—to the point of annoying your reader. At the end of the day, content that is concise and clear will at least convey your message. There’s no guarantee that jokes will add any value.

Here are a few ways to hit the silly sweet spot. Keep in mind that funny is a tone, and depending on the stakes and how your audience feels, it might not be appropriate at all.

As you write, if you think of something funny (and it’s the appropriate tone), put it in. Often, spontaneous jokes are the best because they’re most natural. And you can always remove them later. Conversely, trying to shoehorn jokes into your content after it’s written usually comes across as forced. So let yourself be funny in the moment, scale back later if needed.

Be open to the opinions of proofreaders. Sure, critiques of your humor can feel pretty personal at first. Just remember it’s nearly impossible to be objective about your own sense of humor; you need feedback from others. And real talk: Your guiding principle should always be to do what’s best for the reader, not your ego. That means removing jokes if they take away from your goal.

Finally, even though humor is subjective, there are a few important guidelines to follow so that your jokes are funny for everyone.

• Keep jokes kid friendly. Most people have strong feelings about what’s taboo and what’s not, so don’t even try threading the needle.
• Don’t rely on stereotypes. At best you’ll come across as lazy and outdated. At worst, you’ll alienate readers. Either way, your message becomes tainted.
• Don’t be disparaging. If you’re insulting someone today, what’s to say the reader won’t be the target tomorrow? That’s no way to build trust.
• Don’t use sarcasm. Not only is sarcasm hard to convey through text, it’s often disparaging. (See above.)
• Limit self-deprecating humor. It’s good to be self-aware, but these kinds of jokes shift focus onto you. 99% of the time you should be focused on your audience.
• Remember your international friends. Jokes that rely on local pop culture won’t land for anyone outside your bubble. The same goes for plays on words. If those words are based on a regional idiom, they’ll be nonsensical to a foreign audience.

Even with these guidelines, there’s still a lot of room for fun. Assume that your audience is human and appreciates conversational language with a little humor here and there. It reminds them that you’re human too, helping to forge that connection you wanted all along.