Engage and Connect with Your Reader
1. Use specific adjectives and verbs to create vivid images inside the reader’s head. For example, instead of writing “During the meeting, she felt tired, and her head fell down on her chest,” write “During the meeting, she felt exhausted (depleted) and her head nodded and drooped on her chest.
2. Draw upon elements from your personal experiences, and those of your clients, friends, or family. When your stories are original, they are grounded in daily life authenticity. This enables readers to relate to them more easily and recognize similarities to their own experiences and personal journey.
3. Capture and convey the full range of emotions that everyone experiences. The longevity of Shakespeare’s plays is rooted in how well they illustrate the universal themes, seasons, and dimensions of the human experience in a way that audience members can understand and feel.
4. Use clear, simple terms. Avoid industry jargon or clichés (like, “at the end of the day,” etc.).
5. Include tips, images, graphics, or other visuals to break up and enliven the text.
6. Use a narrative arc. Just as in fiction in which a character evolves through a series of challenges from the beginning of the story to the end, your non-fiction book can offer a similar trajectory. Show the reader how they can go from point A to point B by following your advice. For example, in a book about doing gentle yoga after age 50, the author would reveal to the reader how to go from “unfit, stiff, and lethargic” to “fit, flexible, and feeling fantastic.
Just as the 10 of Cups tarot card below presents a scenario in which the individuals are experiencing a full spectrum of feelings and emotions, writing vividly helps you to fully engage and create an emotional connection with your reader.
Leave a Reply