[SOUND] [SOUND] >> Hello and welcome. I'm Amalia Stephens from the Georgia Tech Language Institute. And I'm delighted you've joined our course, Better Business Writing. Our first module is Write to Share and Achieve Your Goals. We'll focus on increasing your accuracy and appropriateness in written English as well as developing a personal voice in your business writing. By the end of this module, you'll be able to apply these skills to writing projects such as a mission or vision statement or a cover letter. Now, let's begin Lesson 1 on Personal Voice. In this lesson, we'll identify what personal voice is, why it's important for you, and how to develop your own personal voice when you write. As a business person you might wonder why you need a personal voice when you write. Today's business world is fast-paced and global. Many business relations begin, not in person, but through emails, or websites. The information that your customers, business partners, and even competitors read about you, and from you, must send the right message right away. You want to be sure that everything you write makes the best impression possible and creates a positive image. By developing a personal voice you send a message about who you are with every communication you write. Your mission statement, your proposals, your presentations, even your emails will stand out. Think about these companies and their trademark slogans. Think different, Just do it, I'm lovin' it. It's the personal voice of those companies that made these phrases connect successfully with their customers. So, how can you create your personal voice? I have three suggestions. One focus on your readers. When you focus on your readers rather than yourself, you think about what they need to know and how you can communicate that information easily. Two write actively, active writing is easy to understand and remember. And three, be positive and sincere, think about how you would speak to your readers and write the same way. Let your readers see your smile in your writing. Let's compare some sentences, and look at each of these elements of personal voice more closely. First, focus on your readers. Which of these sentences do you think puts more focus on the reader? Well, a is about the writer, b addresses the reader and is the better sentence. Use the pronouns that address your reader. You, your, and yours, more than the pronouns about you, I, my, or mine. Always include all the important information your readers need, and be specific about what you expect from the reader. In addition, stress the information that is most valuable to your readers at the beginning of your message, and repeat it at the end. This is a clear sign to your readers that you're thinking about them. Next, let's examine the second part of developing person voice. Write actively, see if you can identify the active voice in the following sentences. That's right. A is the active sentence. It's easy to understand the action and who does it. The best and easiest way to write actively is to use active verbs. Rather than we conducted an investigation, write we investigated. Instead of we are making plans to develop a new product, write we are planning a new product. When you write actively, you communicate in the clearest way possible. Finally, let's look at the third component of personal voice. Be positive and sincere. Now, I'll let you try again. Identify which sentences you think is positive and sincere. Well, it's important to be polite. You don't need very formal language, too much humility or unnecessary expressions. Your goal is to express yourself positively and sincerely and to treat all your readers equally. This means that you avoid language that discriminates against readers in any way. Including their gender, age, race, or background. So let's review, in this lesson we looked at three key components to develope a personal voice when you write. Focus on your readers, write actively and be positive and sincere. To focus on your readers, you address them directly and let them know they are the most important part of your business. To write actively, you use active subjects and verbs. Finally to be positive and sincere. You write naturally and treat all your readers equally. Now that you've completed this first video lesson, I encourage you to take some time to review the resource and practice materials so you can begin to put what you've learned into action. I'll see you in our next lesson. [MUSIC]
