Business Writing With Buzz

Why active language is more persuasive.

When it comes to copywriting marketing, business development or sales materials, or 'writing tenders or writing proposals, you need to be as engaging, persuasive and results-driven as possible.

Using the active voice can help you create a real sense of immediacy and impact – while the passive voice is more subtle, it can be a little wishy-washy.

What is active voice?

With active language, the subject of a sentence is performing an action. For example:

• The cat is chasing the dog.
• Steve likes Judy. 
• He is holding her hand.
• Andrew gave his mother a hug.

What is passive voice?

In passive language, the target of the action is used as a subject – rather than the person or thing that’s actually doing the action.

For example:

• The dog is being chased by the cat.
• Judy is liked by Steve.
• Her hand is being held by him. 
• Andrew’s mother received a hug from her son.

If you are unsure if a sentence is active or passive, look for the word "by". In most passive voice sentences, you can identify who or what did the action by the word "by". Three of the four examples immediately above include "by".    

It’s important to note that passive language has its place and isn’t “wrong”.  Sometimes, it’s actually helpful when you need to be vague. For instance:

• It is believed that the economy will recover this year.
• It’s commonly argued that active voice is better than passive voice.

However, in most cases, the active form will make what you’re saying sound more dynamic and interesting. It simply pays to be aware of what you’re writing – and to see if there’s a more effective option!