Voice: Snark vs Engaged Authenticity
Voice:
Admire or detest her, Sarah Palin has an evocative voice, as does Michael Katz of Blue Penguin Development. Palin’s voice oozes snark, and Katz emits authenticity and humor. A reader feels a clear impression of both personalities in their writing and speeches.
Good business writing needs to be clear. It also should reflect your natural and authentic “voice” – the tone that reveals the writer’s personality to the reader. Many business writers hide behind business-speak, but that is a mistake. Your own personality should shine through your business writing to engage a reader, because it makes your writing immediate, interesting and relevant.
One makes a splash with snark, but authenticity will always engage a reader across long term communications. The writing lesson here is to match your voice with your message’s audience and goal.
Most often, the engaged, authentic voice wins the reader.
