As bloggers, writing online each day or each week, week after week, month after month and even year after year, we should always be looking to improve the quality of our writing.
Quality doesn’t necessarily mean how good your grammar is or even your writing style. It also means how interesting, useful and unique your content is.
In this post today, I wanted to give you 5 tips that that will help you improve the quality of your writing regardless of your writing skills.
1) Be a Good Listener
When I was on my very first year of Drama class this is the first thing I’ve learned; to become a good listener. Being a good listener is key to improve acting skills. That’s why to this day I still pick up more than the average person, and remember everything people tell me (and catch them in a lie at times), because once I hear it, it’s stuck in my head forever.
Yes, I picked up this old habit a long time ago when I developed my listening skills to improve my acting, but I still use it for my writing.
Being a good listener will help you develop and improve the quality of your writing.
When you write you want to write as you speak, but you can get great inspiration by listening when other people speak. Start noticing by listening to others how things sound to you. Does it sound very convincing to you? Notice when what they’re saying sounds soothing to you. Notice when what they say sounds rough to you. In other words, notice what is said and how it makes you feel. Is it the words? Is it the tone of voice? Is it the context? How does it affect you, and how is it done?
Always remember that people react MOST to what makes them FEEL. Invoke feelings in your writing.
As a bonus, besides noticing the choice of words and the feeling they convey, when you’re trained to listen you will find more topics to write about. What you will be hearing, at times, will give you great ideas or topics to write about.
Being a good listener can really help you develop the quality of your writing more than you may think.
2) Think Out of the Box
It has been said before that there is no topic that hasen’t been written about before and whatever you or me can write about is just another way to say something that has been said before. Well, that’s probably true. Thus the need to always try to think out of the box.
Sometimes, writing ideas may come to you in ways that you don’t expect. If you don’t pay attention they may come and go without you noticing them at all. Thus the need to listen. Thinking out of the box means that you have to dig in different places at times. Maybe unusual places where you’ve never thought to find inspiration to write.
I know what you may be thinking right now; thinking out of the box has its problem, which is, well, the ability to think out of the box. Maybe it’s because you are missing out on the next point.
3) Be Observant
Now you might say, being observant is the same as being a good listener, isn’t it?
Well, no, not exactly. To listen to someone implies that they are speaking, while being observant may have nothing to do with any type of sounds at all. Just a year ago, observing a bird’s nest above my entrance door inspired me to write a post that related to blogging.
You could observe a situation, an event, people, your pets. You could be thinking about a writing idea while watching a movie or a TV show. You could be inspired watching children at play or witnessing the beautiful sight of an old couple holding hands.
You can gain writing insight by observing anything under the sun, and drawing some inspiration from it in order to write. No matter the theme of your blog.
Do not underestimate how observing things around cab help you gain insights that will improve the quality of your writing.
4) Ask Yourself Questions
As yourself questions such as, what do my readers really want to read from me? How could I surprise them in a good way? How could I be of some help to them? Where could I find inspiration to write? what type of subjects get the most traffic? what’s going on in the new that I could use in a post? So forth and so on…
Asking yourself questions like these can really boost your inspiration and bring a stream of ideas to write about.
The more you ask yourself questions about how to improve and how you can best serve your readers, the better the quality of your writing will become.
5) Try to Be Unique
Going back to my acting background, there’s something that drama teachers like to see in a new acting student, its originality and uniqueness.
The good thing about people is that we are naturally all different, and therefore, unique. So, instead of trying to conform and blend in, it’s better to be yourself. Cultivate that uniqueness instead of trying to copy others.
When you are being YOU that’s when you can freely express who you are. When you express who you really are your uniqueness is bound to improve the quality of your writing.
What is it about you that is most original and interesting that you could use in your writing? And don’t start arguing that there isn’t anything, because there is. Each one of us is as unique as our fingerprints.
Trying to find what is unique in YOU will help you develop your quality of writing.
So, there you have it 5 easy tips that can help you develop the quality of your writing. What do you think about that?
Your turn now. Let me know what you think down below in the comment area.
Sylviane, this in itself is a unique and clever way of addressing a topic many of us feel like we have a grasp on, but we do understand all the nuances involved.
I love how you explained the difference between listening and observing,because they are very different.
Many of us forget about observing a situation. It is really hard for some of us to listen. Unfortunately, many people love to talk and that can be used to someone else’s benefit.
If you know someone loves to talk let them do what comes natural to them and you will find out more than you expected.
I also like the uniqueness factor because people get tired of hearing the same thing over and over.
Hi Micheal,
Well, you happened to read that post so fast that I didn’t have time to do my last touch up before you came 🙂 All this mess was due to some technical issues, so I apologize for the few mistakes you might have found.
True, many people like to talk, but when it comes to listen not so much. But as writers we should be different. There’s always so much to pick up when we listen and so little when we just do all the talking.
When people talk too much, I tend to shut up. So basically if you see me silent, well it means that you are talking too darn much 🙂 If I’m not careful I can be that way too with people who talk very little, so I always try to shut my mouth more and listen. It’s a great learning field.
The more we use our uniqueness the better people will be interested in what we have to tell them.
Thanks for coming, Micheal.
Hi Sylviane,
Great Post and tips as always.
All the points you mentioned are valid and they are all important if we are to develop the quality of our writing.
#1 and #5 stood out for me. Listening is very important skill to develop as it can boost our writing skills and all other areas of our business and life.
Being Unique is important to stand out from the crowd. I am sure there is something unique about every one of us. But a question for you how can I find my uniqueness and cultivate it. Maybe I told you before that I am trying to narrow my niche and craft my USP (Unique Selling Preposition). I know that I have to find something unique about me and put myself out there using it but honestly I am struggling to find it and I feel stuck because of that. If you have any pointers in this direction maybe you can write a post about it.
Thanks Sylviane for the great value you provide with your blog. Always helpful!! Have yourself a great week ahead.
Be Blessed,
Neamat
Hi Neamat,
Wow, I had some issues with this blog as Hostgator was telling me that I was using to much CPU they had suspended it for over hours. Thus you must have read a post that was still a bit of mess as it needed another review 🙂 Sorry about that.
OK, about your question now. Maybe start asking yourself questions such as, what am I really good at? Where do I stand out? What do people appreciate the most in me? What do I like to do the most when it comes to helping others?
What would you answer to those questions to start with?
Now, what did I see right away in you? That you seemed like a sweet, nice and honest person. I think that you can easily inspire trust. Now do I feel this in every one I meet online? No. But that’s what I felt about you. And those are qualities that most people starting a network marketing business are looking for in a leader.
I’m sorry that there isn’t any easy answer to such question, but that’s a start. Tell me what answers you are coming up with. We could also discuss this more in detail sometime. over a Google hangout maybe 🙂
Thanks for coming,
Hi Sylviane,
Well, as usual, another great post that teaches me how to improve my skills in writing!
I like what you said about being observant and how just watching a birds nest helped you write a blog post. I find that being observant give me more information about writing. I carry around a notebook just in case I see something that sparks my interest. I have written many a blog post because of that!
Thinking outside of the box is just part of my personality. Sometimes I come up with too many ideas he he. But I just like doing that because it does help when I’m writing.
Of course all your other points are effective as usual. OMG As I follow this blog, I’m getting better and better because you are teaching me so much and I thank you for that.
Donna
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Hi Donna,
You are so funny. Being yourself a very spiritual and resourceful person, I’m always amazed that I can teach you something, but it’s always nice to hear.
That’s great that you can think out of the box easily. As for me, I can when the subject interest me, yes. I cannot when I don’t like what I’m doing, like my job, for example 🙂 No thinking out of the box there for sure LOL!
Thanks for coming as usual, and see on your side and hopeful at the hangout.
This is great advice Sylviane!
#1 was definitely my a-ha moment, I see there is so much more to listening than I realized…thanks for breaking it down like this.
As I was reading #2 I remembered all the weirdest times I get inspired. I could be in the shower, washing dishes or in the middle of my sleep and an idea will hit me 🙂
I always try and add my own spin on things and how I say it because I want my uniqueness to show in every post I write. 🙂
Thanks so much for this advice! Hope you’re having a great week Sylviane!
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Hi Corina,
Well, I’m sure glad people are now able to read my post on this blog again, after all this mess earlier this week.
Don’t your love those moments of inspiration? They love to pop up when we have nothing to take notes with 🙂
It’s interesting you mentioned taking the shower and washing dishes because I read once that water has a lot to do with inspirations due to some phenomenon that I can’t remember, but that’s why people are often inspired in the shower.
Thanks for coming, Corina and have a great one!
Hi Sylviane,
When I first started reading this post I thought there wouldn’t be anything new but you surprised me and it was documented in your blog. 🙂 A unique spin on real material. All of the tips you gave are valid and good information to be reminded of.
I love the tips and all are important to making our blogs better.
Thanks for reminding me. I always take good advice and like to re-look at my blog when I get that advice.
Hope you are well and look forward to seeing you in our Hangout tonight. 🙂
Barbara
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Hi Barbara,
So, where did I surprise you? Anywya, I’m gald if you enjoyed this.
As for the hangout, I may need to do a test drive beore the real hangout with one of you gals. As far as I know I’ve uninstalled Google Talk as per their instructions, but I still don’t know if it’s going to work.
Have a great day!
Hi Sylviane,
Thank you for this post – exactly what I needed. English is not my first language, so it is always a challenge to dress and express my thoughts.
I find that listening and asking question is the best way to improve my skills. Also I try to talk or record a video, so I am more relaxed with my words. I participate in the local Toastmasters club which gives me a great opportunity to meet nice and intelligent people. We brainstorm topics on leadership, personal development and communication. We thrive to become connectors.
Being unique comes from personal experience. Which is all about paying atention to the little things.
Loved this post! Thank you!
Hi Margrita,
I’m so glad you enjoyed the post and I feel that I haven’t been to your blog for ages. I will definitely come see you.
Your group sounds very interesting. When it comes to my coaching business I am stating to develop things and getting involved in local groups is something I am going to start doing. Thank you for sharing this with me.
Have a great rest of the week
Hi Sylviane,
Sorry I’m late here as I was in sick and then you know what has been through 😉
Being a good listener, observant and unique is the best tips out of ’em all in my opinion 🙂 I think my childhood contributed a lot on being a good listener and observing others. They really helped me to help some of my friends in some critical issues too. As being technical, observing is a vital trait 😉 lol…
I’m definitely agree with the concept you have shown about being unique. We unique in the way we are. I always believe that. So we don’t wanna use extra effort on trying to imply the uniqueness. Sometimes when I read articles I feel “Oh this is similar to the article I read last week”. We feel it effortlessly like we identify the author of a book by its writing, no? 🙂
You have a error-free week there Sylviane 😉
Cheers…
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Hi Mayura,
I didn’t even know you were sick, but I do know that I kept you busy with my technical issues. Thanks for everything. You did a great job, Mayura.
By the way watch for the next post 😉
I’m glad you have your favorite tips here and even more glad that you are a good listener.
Have a great rest of the week.
Most welcome and I’m glad now everything is working as they intend to dear 🙂
Ha ha… I’m not 100% back with health yet but I can’t resist technical issues Sylviane 🙂 I was missing it when I was in bed sick or few days.
Cheers…
So I’m glad that I finally made it back Sylviane and so happy to see you up and running smoothly. Now, let’s see if I can remember what my comment was that got lost in the process of your site mess. You know I should know by now to copy my stuff cause I’m having issues too!
These are all great tips but I think the one I have the most difficulty with is thinking outside the box. Yeah, that’s never been my strong suit although I sure as heck try.
I really good at paying attention to stuff and writing my ideas down but I just mostly stick with what I know and writing it in my own words. I’d love though to come up with other ways to express myself or share the content. Because of that I’m definitely unique in my own way which is a good thing and it’s definitely working for me.
Great share as always Sylviane and thanks so much for these lessons. Now, enjoy your weekend okay.
~Adrienne
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Hi Adrienne,
Thinking out of the box is not always easy, and I’m not that great at it either, but you have your own “Adrienne style” that people love anyway, so you don’t have much to worry about.
Sorry my blog lost your first comment. What a crazy week it was with those blogs. I’m so glad to see them back after I spent another hour on the phone with my hosting company this morning. I so hope it’s finally over 🙂
Thanks for your visit, Adrienne.
Hello Sylviane
As always such great tips to follow if we are to be sharpen in our writing.
On thing that I learned in Toastmasters is to be an active listener, which helps us respond appropriately.
Also the tip about me observant. I look for inspiration in many places, and I get many ideas from nature. Like Corina, I get inspired in the showers and also when I am jogging.
Great post.
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Hi Gladys,
I think that a lot of us get inspiration in the shower, no doubt. Being an active listener, I love that expression and it’s so important for a lot of things, not only to get inspired for writing, but other things of life.
Thanks for coming Gladys 🙂
Hi Sylviane,
Good topic.
What is quality?
In my mind the first criterion must be usefulness. How useful your content is? This means what problem do you try to solve in your post? Yes, I know there are posts written just for entertainment. I am not interested in this type. What interests me is to acquire the mindset of a problem-solver. When you get used to wear this problem-solving hat then everything changes. People will read your posts even if your style is not so nice and your grammar not so correct. The simple fact that you help them solve a problem will make them interested and wanting to return for more.
Listening
When I listen to someone speaking (a podcast or a video or a webinar), the first think I want to know is the quality of that person. Is he or she honest? I try hard to FEEL the heart of that person. Is it a good heart or a bad heart? If the heart is good, then I want to know more about that person. If not, I will keep the distance no matter how knowledgeable and skillful that person is.
Have a nice day
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Hi Silviu,
Always appreciate your honest comments.
Well, like you I love blog posts that teach me something, but I also like entertainment. That’s why I have such blog as well. My travel blog is entertainment, culture, history, facts, and at times tips and advice.
I’m like you, I always try to feel how someone really is. When I was younger I wasn’t very good at that, now however, I am much better at it. I have to say that I feel people pretty well now and rarely if ever wrong on my “diagnosis” 🙂 We are, indeed, not attracted by people that we feel don’t have a good heart. I agree.
Thank you for your excellent input, as always, and see you on your side.
Hi Sylviane,
I like you talk about some great tips beyond writing style. I particularly like what you say about listening. Do we listen to simply the language? Or, we are also picking up deeper thoughts and feelings? Awesome insights, Sylviane!
I would argue that a blogger can also ‘listen’ by engaging with the readers. Listen for clues of common interest. Ideas about common challenges. Those would create more ideas for blogging.
Lastly, I love the part about observing others. I have learned so much about great networking skills through observing what well-respected networkers do and say. I take pride in being a copycat. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when knowledge is abundant.
Thank you so much for this insightful post, Sylviane.
Viola Tam – The Business Mum
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Hi Viola, and always nice to see you here.
Yes, you’re right. No need to re-invent the wheel. We can learn form the best what works, while we include our own personality in it, because we all have something good as individuals, you know.
I’m glad you like this post, Viola, and have a great weekend!
Hi Sylviane,
I agree with all these tips and love the way you’ve emphasised listening and observing, and the importance of the emotional impact of your writing. I think uniqueness, to some extent, comes with practice – it’s not something that you can really manufacture – as you say, it’s about having the confidence to speak with our own voice and be ourselves.
I think two of the main ways to improve our writing is just to read, read, read and write, write, write – our writing won’t improve if we don’t do much of it, and we can also learn so much by reading other great writers.
Thanks for these excellent tips, Sylviane 🙂
Sue
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Hi Sue,
Yes, the MOST important factors to improve our writing skills are to read and write. No doubt. And I have mentioned that in many posts before. Everything else comes when we practice these two of course.
As a matter of fact, any advice you may give about any skill can only be applied with practice. Thanks for mentioning this:)
Thank you for coming here, and have a great week.
Be a good listener!!! That point convinced me alot and I think my blogging career stated from that. Am the type the believe what is worth doing at all is worth doing well if and only if, am ready to listen and follow professional instruction and that is the more reason why am so much convinced about being a good listener.
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Hi Adesanmi,
Yes, being a good listener is vital for those who want to learn. thank you for bringing this up 🙂
The part you mentioned “Think out of the box” really caught my attention, you sure provides great tips for us tech bloggers. Thanks for the share buddy
Hi Obasi, and welcome here.
Yes, I think that those tips apply for all bloggers, tech bloggers included.
I’m glad that this post caught your attention.
Have a great week.
You gave me much to think about in my own writing. I write about what I hear that inspires me, so I understand the listening. I will work on my own listening skills.
Hi Laura,
I’m glad this post made you think. Purpose accomplished. Thanks for coming.
Great points Sylviane. Though I prefer to “Think without a box” than “Think outside a box” when it comes a writing. But both ways work just fine.
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Hi Mike,
Well, I think they are both one and the same aren’t they?
Thanks for your input, though 🙂
Another awesome post. What to write and how to write unique posts are the challenges facing many bloggers, but with the above tips the challenges will be minimal.
Thanks for sharing this post.
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Hi Orjiakor,
I’m glad you liked it. Hope to see you here again, then 🙂 I will also come see you on your end.
Thanks for the writing tips. After writing articles every week sometimes I ask myself, does what I am writing still make sense or is this interesting? Being up to date, unique and observant about the things around us can really be of help to our writing. Thanks!
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Hi lynne,
Asking yourself questions like that is a good thing. It’s good to put ourselves in the shoes of our readers, and see if what we write really talks to them.
Thank you for coming and thank you for your feedbacks.
I just found your blog and I have to say I am impressed. I am working on becoming a better writer.
I just started my blog about a month ago and have not really developed a writing style yet. I read several blogs and notice how well written their blog posts are.
I know that as I continue writing on my blog I will improve my writing style. But your tips will help make it easier to learn what to focus on so I can become a better writer and improve the quality of my writing.
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Hi Susan,
I’m so glad you found my blog and that my blog found you. I hope this is the first visit of many and that we can get to know each other.
I can see your link here thanks to commentluv, so I will be coming on your site and see what you’re up too 🙂
Have a great day, and thank you for coming!
There is one thing I observed about genius, they love to know when they don’t understand and this has really set them apart from other. Asking what you don’t know and understand will widen your knowledge and definitely bring the best.
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In the blogging industry, it is believed that content is king, so every post that addresses this topic must be given attention.
Thank you Sylviane for clarifying this.
Hi there,
Yes, content is a biggy and that’s where it all starts, doesn’it?
Thanks for coming