Writing in the "Active Voice"It's a rare classroom experience that can cause a tidal change. One of those for me was a seminar with Mackie Morris (see the upcoming section). Morris makes his message clear. "Write in the active voice." For example, instead of writing
write this instead:
Put the receiver of the verb's action after the verb. Instead of the passively voiced "John Doe was arrested by police" (Doe is the receiver of the action and is ahead of the verb), change that to "Police arrested John Doe." Morris emphasizes that passive voice deadens, complicates, and lengthens writing. It's not ungrammatical but it's more suitable for print than television copy. You use passive voice sparingly in everyday conversation, and you should use it sparingly in video productions . You are asking people to listen to your words, not read them. Make it easy. Make it active. It takes some effort to make the shift from passive voice to active. Simply recognizing passive voice takes extra attentiveness. The biggest giveaway is some form of the "to be" verb in a verb phrase. The following sentences are all in the passive voice:
Make them active by moving the receiver of the action to after the verb:
That one fundamental technique makes your sentences simpler and shorter. Morris calls it "straight-line meaning." The listener understands the copy better because it flows in a straight line. You know that when you read a newspaper you frequently go back and reread some sentences because something didn't add up. Video viewers don't have that luxury. Besides simply switching the sentence around ("relocating the actor," as Morris puts it), you can fix passive sentences in three other ways:
Not all "to be" verb phrases are passive. "The man was driving south" contains a verb phrase and a "to be" helper. But the man was performing the action, not receiving it. Therefore the sentence is active. A sentence is passive only if the receiver of the verb's action precedes the verb. Writing in the active voice forces you to get out of your writing rut. Instead of saying the same old things in the same old "to be" passive way, you will select new active verbs and constructions. You'll write more conversationally and with a fresher and more interesting style. That's not to say that you'll write exclusively in the active voice. You should write, "He was born in 1984," or "She was injured in the accident " because that's what people say. Focusing on active voice will make your copy more interesting and easier to understand. Mackie Morris' Writing TipsFew if any media consultants match Mackie Morris' 25-year record as a journalism and communications seminar leader, teacher, coach, and practitioner. Founder and president of Mackie Morris Communications, he works with a wide range of corporate and public service clients to enhance their communication skills. Mackie Morris.
Previously Morris served as chairman of the Broadcast News Department at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He later worked as a vice president and lead consultant for Frank N. Magid Associates, a major media consulting firm, where he implemented a series of instructional workshops for broadcast professionals. It was at one of those seminars that I became a devotee of Morris's "active voice." Morris continues to be one of the most sought-after broadcast writing seminarians ever. The Good Writer's Dazzlin' DozenAt his seminars Morris relentlessly hammers home his active voice message. But peppered throughout his presentation he interjects other useful writing tips. He calls them "The Good Writer's Dazzlin' Dozen":
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