It's All About the VOICE

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this article is to explain the VOICE and its importance to written communication. The information is organized into three main categories: WHAT... SO WHAT... NOW WHAT.
Knowing your relationship with the subject and being able to express your attitude about the subject to an audience by using a unique writing style results in clear and compelling written communication.
WHAT
While we all have similarities, each of us is unique in many ways. And it is that uniqueness that helps us find our own VOICE. Your relationship with the subject of your work should be meaningful, emotional, and unique... it is a sensation, a mood, a deep emotional and cerebral understanding of the topic. This means you must feel passionate about what you are writing as well as quite knowledgeable about the topic through research and perhaps as well as personal/professional experiences.
I was first introduced to the VOICE as a young boy, but didn't know it at the time. I played the clarinet quite well, but one day I heard a recording from my parents' collection of music of someone playing the tenor saxophone... he was Coleman Hawkins. As a young boy the sound was something I had never heard before, and it had a profound effect on me such that I wanted to play the tenor sax just like Coleman Hawkins. So, I asked my music teacher to train me to sound like Coleman Hawkins.
You've probably already figured out what my music teacher said to me, "There is only one Coleman Hawkins. No one can sound like him... he has his own relationship to the music and to the tenor sax. Ten people can play the same tenor saxophone with the same mouthpiece and the same reed but each will sound differently. You've got to find your own relationship to the music and to the instrument. Be you, not him."
I didn't understand what my teacher was telling me at that time in my young life... I persisted... so did he. I eventually played the tenor sax but my sound never wailed like Coleman Hawkins. However, I finally understood much later in my life what the VOICE really means.
As a side note, I also later learned that the tenor saxophone was initially banned from several European countries because the sound seemed to be too seductive... the tenor sax is often referred to as the "Devil's Horn."
Do you know your VOICE?
According to Voltaire, "Writing is the painting of the VOICE." I agree.
For many of us there are 5 steps of writing that starts with Planning, but you've got to get your VOICE right from the start. Or else, there is a great chance that your writing will be disorganized, your document will lack persuasion, your VOICE will be inconsistent and insincere, and the reader will be confused and not believe in what you write.
We all learned at one time during our writing development that the Rhetorical Triangle is the platform for clear communication. Today I understand a broader application of the Rhetorical Triangle regardless if the communication is from a singer, dancer, speaker, architect, painter, sculptor, photographer, actor, or writer.
It all starts with the writer's motivation of the subject. In other words, why is the writer so inspired to write about that particular topic? If the motivation isn't clear to the writer, the information will be confusing to the reader.
Second is the writer's main message. This means, what is the main point of the writing? In other words, what is the take-home message you want the reader to remember? Knowing the take-home message... some call it the thesis... keeps the writer focused and the reader engaged.
Thirdly is the target audience for the document. Said another way, who is the writer addressing... are they the ones who will be interested in reading the text... and how do you know?
Finding your VOICE is not necessarily easy... in fact it can be daunting. But without knowing your VOICE, your communication will most likely be bland and uninspiring.
There are many ways to find your VOICE. For example, look deep within yourself for the emotional link to the topic. Ask yourself why you are interested in writing about the topic. Have you experienced something that relates to the subject and now is the time to share that experience? Has no one else written about the topic in the way that you can? Can you learn from others who have written about the topic... what do they know that you don't know but should know?
SO WHAT
Now that you've found your VOICE, what should you do next? Here are a few suggestions. Keep it all to yourself; share it with others; report something to others; explain something to others; teach something to others; call others to take action; create an emotion within others; provide a solution to a problem; help others find their own solution.
Using your VOICE is more than a cathartic process for you as the writer and for the reader, and so you have to find the purpose/intent/motive for finding and then applying your VOICE. Remember, your writing has the potential for inspiring others.
NOW WHAT
Make your written VOICE be natural, organic and compelling... just like Coleman Hawkins with his tenor saxophone.
Use the SHOW-style of writing through explaining, providing examples, describing, illustrating, offering evidence, exhibiting, and so forth.
Avoid using the TELLING-style with instructing, informing, reporting, lecturing, and so forth.
Help readers to believe in something and to feel an emotion from your writing. Inform readers as well as inspire them through your VOICE.
CLOSE
In summary, identify your emotional attitude towards the subject before you write. Don't be afraid to express your attitude and personality towards the subject in written form. Be consistent with your written VOICE. Don't write about something that you don't have an emotional connection with... a personal relationship that doesn't interfere with truth as you know. Know your audience.
In conclusion, knowing and using your emotional and cerebral relationship with the subject greatly facilitates expressing your VOICE with a unique style.