The Surprising Reason Why Persuading Your Readers Might Be Hurting Your Message
Ever caught yourself banging your head against the keyboard, trying to persuade your readers like a courtroom lawyer pleading for a verdict? What if I told you that most writers completely miss the mark here? Writing isn’t about convincing others to see things your way—it’s about sparking thinking, inspiring reflection, and setting ideas free without the chains of persuasion. That shift? It’s a game-changer, transforming your work from a stressful scramble into something genuinely meaningful. Trust me, once you stop wrestling with opposing views and start welcoming them, your writing breathes and blossoms… even if your audience doesn’t all agree. So, why fight to herd a jury when you can invite a vibrant conversation instead? Curious to unravel this liberating approach? LEARN MORE.
Most writers misunderstand their purpose
You are not in a courtroom. The readers are not the jury.
As a writer, there is a version of you before you make this discovery and a version of you after you consider the alternative. Until you realise that your goal is not to persuade but to encourage critical or inspired thinking, you will spend your thoughts on a wasteful pursuit when you could be writing something inherently significant.
When you are trying to persuade, you attempt to control the minds of your readers (an impossible task). You struggle and fail to tie loose ends in your writing, resort to confirmation bias to uphold your work, and dwell in anxiousness when you receive a comment that contradicts your views.
Instead of settling and easing into your ideas and refining them, you spend your time overthinking the probable idea that other counter-ideas exist. Spoiler alert: they do. But when you let people think and allow yourself to write without the burden of persuasion, you set yourself free. Your writing flourishes and transcends its intended significance because you are not strict about gathering an echoing crowd.
You write because you believe in what you have to say, and for a good part of your work, that is what ultimately matters. Never write what you don’t believe, but don’t expect anybody to believe what you say.
When writing feels off
“If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them.” — George Orwell
A well-researched or interesting piece can stand alone. With focused writing, you can create something you would enjoy reading if published by someone else. That’s a tell-tale sign of good writing. What isn’t? When you feel the writer’s frustration through their words.
How to tell when a writer is frustrated:
- They are desperately trying to merge points that don’t work together
- Their headings offer no consistency to the title
- They over-explain simple ideas, revealing insecurity rather than clarity
- They use flamboyant…
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