Watch Your Tone

Have you ever been told, “Its not what you said, its how you said it?”

In interpersonal communication, the tone of our voice can have more influence on the emotions of those we are speaking to than the content of our actual words. The same is often true in writing.

The tone of your writing, the attitude or feeling the language evokes regarding the subject matter, can greatly shape the reader’s perception of the work as a whole. Tone can be difficult to define and even trickier to properly utilize, but it is a powerful tool in writing and the failure to capitalize on it is one of the most common pitfalls we see inexperienced authors fall into. The ability to cater the tone of the writing to fit the expectations of the reader and elicit an emotional response that mirrors the events happening on the page is part of what elevates an adequate piece of writing to a masterful one.

In this blog we are going to examine a few examples of how small decisions during the writing process can have a big impact on the tone of the piece and hopefully learn how to implement these techniques into our own writing.

1.  Who is your reader?

Before you even begin to write a new project, you should always consider who it is you are writing to. If you were sending an email that indicated you were going to be late to an appointment, the language you would use would vary significantly depending on if the appointment were with your boss, your spouse, your sibling, your grandmother, etc. The same is true for books. Is your book intended for youth basketball players? Economics students? Christian women? There are countless different target audiences you could write to and each would require a distinct tone in order for you to communicate your ideas most effectively.

2. Choose your words carefully

The primary method by which the tone is conveyed is through your choice of words. In writing, you can’t hear the literal tone of voice that the speaker is using like you would in a verbal conversation, so we must rely on the connotation of words as much as their definitions to communicate our tone via writing. Your word choice will dictate the way the reader hears your voice in their head, and this is an exceptionally powerful tool. Here is an example of how small changes in the word choice can influence the tone to make the same idea come across completely differently.

• “The puppy waited patiently to eat his treat, his eagerness only made apparent by a small dribble of drool that escaped from the corner of his youthful smile.”

• “The hound obediently restrained himself from devouring his meal, but his ravenous hunger was betrayed by the slobber that poured from his snarling jaws.”

This example illustrates how significantly word choice can alter the reader’s perception. In both sentences, a dog waits for food, but as writers, we can do so much more than merely explain the scene, we can influence how the reader sees the dog in their head. Do we want the writing to sound scary? Sad? Happy? Pessimistic? Nostalgic? There’s no end to the range of emotions you can strive to evoke through writing. This is the power of tone, and why it is so important to choose your words carefully.

The right words can ensure the reader hears your authentic voice and knows how you feel about the topic because they can feel it too. Everything we include in our writing, from the words we choose, to the way we use punctuation, the structure of the sentence, and the cadence of a paragraph influences the tone of the writing and shapes the way the reader will react to your work.

So, whether you are writing a new piece or revising an old one, consider who it is you are writing to, and whether the tone of your work conveys the emotion you are trying to communicate to them. Its easier than it sounds, and your readers and editors alike will thank you for it.