A colleague of mine recently thanked her networking group for their help.  “Now I have a voice,” she said. 

Novelists and poets talk about “finding your voice.”  But Melissa (not her real name) didn’t mean that kind of voice.  She had discovered how to talk about her work as an entrepreneur and businesswoman.

Melissa’s comment hit me where I live—because my job is to find the client’s voice when I write about their work.  Especially if it’s a small business or non-profit, or a solo practitioner.  Their customers are looking for a personal connection, not a lot of market-speak.  

To get that voice means listening to the client.  Of course I have to understand how to use the technical words that relate to their work, and learn about their customers.  But I also have to listen to how people talk—and think—about what they do.  

Is the client a short-sentence person, or do the express themselves in longer, more complex, carefully worded terms?  Does their work lend itself to warm, friendly, flowery language, or terse outlines?  Are their customers people who want it simple?  Or do they want to know every single fascinating detail about the organization, their mission, and how they achieve that mission?

I also explain to the client that I plan to find their voice.  Otherwise, the client might think he or she wants the usual “professional” bushwa, the stuff that everyone uses, the stuff that sounds patently insincere. 

Along with listening, it helps to read some things the client has written about their organization.  In fact, when a client hired me to edit materials he had written, I learned that can be a terrific way to work on something short.  He had already captured why he chose his work and how he goes about it.  All I needed to do was pare his writing down a little for today’s short-attention-span readers.  (Actually, our attention spans are fine, considering how much information we all take in every day!)

So I listen to you, I read what you’ve written about your work, and I think about how your customer reads.  Then I add it all up and find your voice.  Crystal clear! 

After that, you can begin writing your novel.