My son stuck his head around my office door and looked at me in surprise. “I thought you were talking to someone,” he said. “Were you on the phone?”
I had to tell him no; I was talking to myself – or rather, reading aloud my copy to myself before sending it off.
Reading copy aloud is one of the best tips I can give you to improve your writing. You will
- Pick up on long sentences
- “Hear” clunky sentences
- Realise when your writing is too formal as it won’t sound right.
- Pick up on typos.
It makes you slow down and it’s much more effective than going over your copy on screen one more time, or printing it out (which can be a waste of paper and ink).
Go on, give it a go!
