Action verbs for dynamic speech writing

Shun those weak wishy-washy nondescript verbs!

Strong action verbs in speech writing give your words immediacy.

(I know this. Probably you do too.)

They carry color and passion: communicating with clarity and precision.

(I know this too. You?)

Use them, and they'll stop your audience inwardly groaning over yet another ho-hum, blah, blah speech.

(I know this as well. But sometimes, I forget.)

Let's, all of us, me included, drop those dull, generalized verbs and choose to write vividly and distinctively.

Writing with color

Here's an example so you can see what I mean.

Mary expressed her disappointment by pulling a face.

That's quite a few words and, although it does get the idea across about what Mary is doing and feeling, we can do better. Much better.

We'll rewrite the sentence using a dynamic action verb.

Mary grimaced.

or Mary frowned.

or Mary winced.

or Mary glowered.

or Mary scowled.

Each one of those verb choices is stronger because it conveys more precisely what Mary's does and feels as a result of being disappointed.  One word contains everything we need to know.

In addition, that one word has replaced seven from the original sentence.  It’s tight economic writing. The sort I admire and find a challenge to execute.

For more and my best-loved word hunting technique, which includes looking for vivid verbs, see action verbs for dynamic speech writing

That’s it for today. ☺ Thank you for reading.

Cheers,
Susan

PPS. As I said last week, and I’ll say next, if you have ideas for topics you’d like to see covered in this newsletter, or if you’d like to share an article on some aspect of public speaking, or a speech of your own, please get in touch. Either reply to this email or contact me through the form on my about me page on my website. I’d love to hear from you!