2 replies to this topic

[iamlost]

If you really want to see the difference that emotion, caring in words can make to readers' response I'm going to share some links to stories a young boy dying, a young boy dead.

---Dying---
The news story:
* Brave schoolboy Caden Beggan has his legs cut off to save his life, Daily Record, 08-November-2012.
* Pink bus for 'brave' schoolboy Caden Beggan, BBC, 16-November-2012.

The personal story:
* “You’ve seen some things…”, 24-November-2012.

---Dead---
The news story:
* Schoolboy Caden Beggan dies in hospital, BBC, 20-November-2012.
* Facebook tributes as boy loses fight for life, HeraldScotland, 21-November-2012.

T he personal story:
*Funeral, 03-December-2012.

Tell me, I dare you, that you didn't feel an emotional response difference of great degree, even of kind, between the news and personal stories. And that the difference in text structure and between normal prose and prose-poetry didn't affect that impact difference.

Not all stories are as deeply moving, unsettling as this. And yes, there are inherent differences between story as news style and story as personal experience. However, I hope that you understand that even with an already emotionally charged story how you tell it changes everything. Not the facts, but how the reader feels the facts, responds to the facts, and behaves after ingesting the facts, somehow the facts remain but everything is changed.

When you write put an appropriate amount of yourself, of emotion into each story. Do not disengage or you are unlikely to engage your readers. Even with a classic such as Hamlet; listen to different actors who have played the role (NOT Mel Gibson, please) and although the story, the words are the same somehow each makes the role, the character over into his own story. Just as that sets a great actor apart so too can great copy set itself apart from competitors.

Put some feeling into your prose, pull the reader into your story, transport them to answers and pleasures and conversions, oh my.

[cre8pc]

I suspect many readers will breeze past this, not realizing its contribution to content writing and persuasive design.

It's not accident that Rumi's poetry and prose are popular even today. Neuroscience is discovering reams of new findings about the brain and how the mind responds to the world, thus affecting and even changing, the brain. I've been buried in neuroscience for awhile, learning whatever I can grasp and taking findings into my world of usability.

It's very possible to create emotional responses from online users. Social networking is doing it now. Captology is a great place to start learning and understanding. The more I study, the more I realize the potential of how much influence we have with our web sites on changing minds or causing positive emotions and behaviors. It seems like most of the effort is for propaganda, marketing, political gain and a purposeful rally to bring on a riot. These areas are proven to work in social settings and blogs and sites with content.

What about writing content that creates a state of peace, mindfulness or joy in the reader?

[DonnaFontenot]

how you tell it changes everything

indeed, and these examples truly showed that.