If you stop next to me at a traffic light, you will see something a little unusual. It will appear that I am speaking to myself. I want you to know that I am not as crazy as I seem. Note that I didn’t say I wasn’t crazy, I just didn’t that mad.
So why am I talking to myself? You see, my main learning style is Auditory. That means I process information better if I hear it out loud. So years ago I learned to work on my presentations in my car. I never write my speeches. I just work through sections out loud, testing out sentences and rhythm, until I find something that sounds exactly right.
I have often used this same technique as the basis for my blogging strategy. Talking about my ideas helps me write better blog posts. I often write a paragraph and read it out loud. I edit the text according to the way it sounds. That’s probably why I use so many extra commas. I listen to the pauses and I think there must be a comma for everyone else to hear it too.
About six months ago, I started logging random thoughts and ideas to use as blog post starters. It worked great, I expanded the process and now I can often be found dictating full posts on my iPhone while driving in my car. (So it looks a bit crazy at traffic lights.)
I often record the post two or three times. I listen to the recording and adjust the flow, the way other people write, edit and rewrite a post. Some people think of a keyboard, I think of a voice recorder.
Some editing is still required once I write the post, but embracing my natural working style has made blogging so much easier and better. I really like a lot of the posts that I have created in the last few months because they sound like me. They are more natural, more conversational, and yet informative.
This technique may not work for everyone, but if you have a hard time typing, get a voice recorder and try using it in the car. Don’t worry if others think you are speaking to yourself, because the process of recording then writing will help you speak to many people through your blog in the long run.
