Offering Readers a Chance to Talk
Posted by Liz Strauss · 4 Comments
I was just answering two comments on the post Pay Attention. No, I Mean Really. Doing that left me thinking of something blogging has taught me a lot about — not just the beauty of paying attention to one thing at a time — but the fulfillment of offering readers a chance to talk.
When I first started blogging, I often tried to do too much. I’d write a post that carried the load of too many thoughts at one time. Those blogging posts went both deep and wide. They were so complete, I left no room for readers to add their thoughts.
It’s not a conversation when all a reader can say is I agree with you, Great post. or You covered that subject really well. There’s just nowhere for a conversation to go, if I don’t leave room for a reader’s thoughts to squeeze in between my own. Now I know to think about the conversation when I write.
Here are a few things that I do differently now.
- I ask more questions without answering them.
- I don’t try to think through every possibility as I once used to do.
- I’ve backed off on holding myself accountable as an expert on the what I write about and instead, think of myself as one of the audience talking to another reader about an idea, waiting to hear his or her point of view.
Right now I’m wondering what you’re thinking about most blog posts. What is the thing that pulls you out? What changes you into a person who writes a comment, who wants to add to the discussion, who feels your thoughts are important, will be valued, and will be heard?
Those are questions I think about when I blog . . . only readers can answer them.
Liz Strauss
For me, I think the key is recognizing that there *are* questions to ask! That leaves the door open for conversation, and we can all learn from that – from both the Qs and the As. Let’s the mind wander, and that’s good exercise. Thanks for the stroll.
Hey CB,
That’s one of the differences in blog writing — remembering to leave a little room in what you write so that people can ask a few questions and add their own voice to the story. It’s not easy at first to leave a loose when we’ve all been taught to tie things up so tightly, but the benefits of conversation make it worth to learn how.
Liz
I am sitting here working on a “piece” and my thoughts keep coming back to this one skill that I see in your writing, Liz. It is a step beyond converstational. A writing style that has a personal tone (allbeit professional) almost like a mentor that values the thoughts and questions as much as your own. Many of us do indeed value and WANT to hear what others have to say ~ it’s just that we haven’t mastered that type of interaction in this format. Being personable and accessible is a very valuable trait in real life so in the virtual world when you can convey this – it is what draws people in. IMHO
Tammy
Tammy,
I read your comments on so many blogs. You are a thoughtful and engaged reader. You are every writer’s dream.
Thank you so much for what you you’ve said here. I’ve been writing such a long time . . . and I so want readers to hear what I’m saying. I work hard at finding the right words. I don’t think it ever gets easy.