The easiest way to make your writing more fun

--> warning, this involves not being boring

There are two ways to make your writing more fun and interesting.

One is through technique. I gave an example of this - the use of asides - last time.

If you’ve read much PG Wodehouse or Jane Austen you’ll know that the particular combination and pacing of words they use is just - well - amusing. It makes you smile.

Wodehouse could write a shopping list and I’d probably end up laughing if I read it.

Most of us don’t have that talent. Though I do think it can be improved by reading more fun stuff rather than all those earnest-but-deathly-dull posts on Linkedin we seem to feel it’s our duty to wade through.

But there is an easier way to make your writing a more fun read.

It’s simply to write about more fun stuff.

I was trawling through some of my older newsletters and noticed just how many times I reference popular culture to illustrate a point.

Dr Who. Only Fools & Horses. Scooby Doo.

Only the highbrow stuff from me, obvs.

You can’t do it every email, but if you can find a way to make your point using a popular TV show or film or music as an example then people who like those shows, films or songs will smile. It’ll bring back good memories for them and you get to hang on the coattails of those good memories.

It also makes it easier to get your point across quickly since you won’t have to give an in-depth explanation. They’ll have half the story in their head already. And because you’re attaching your point to a strong existing memory, it’s more likely to be remembered too.

How do you make those connections?

Watch the shows. Or read about them. Don’t just spend your time reading “important” business stuff.

My Dr Who link came from noticing it was Tom Baker’s birthday and then diving in a bit and finding out he’d nearly been fired after just a couple of episodes based on initially negative feedback from viewers.

That led to what I think was a really useful post about persevering through change.

And it was my willingness to dive into the “irrelevant” weeds that led to that post.

We all have interests outside of business. Give yourself permission to include them in your writing.

For those who share those interests or who remember similar things, it’ll build a closer bond.

But it works even for those who don’t as it provides some levity and shows that you’re not just a boring old faceless expert who knows about nothing but their topic.

And perhaps most important of all, it’ll be fun for you too.

- Ian