We humans are emotional beings. We cry at movies, we laugh at jokes, we fall in love, we fall out of love, we’re happy, we’re sad, and on and on. Our emotions play a huge role in our lives–for some more than for others– but regardless, we’re all susceptible to basic emotions, and it’s to these feelings that we should reconcile our presentations. It may seem like all business up there with a audience of successful businesspeople, but beneath their stoic, cool demeanors, they have hearts. Pull at those heartstrings by using powerful, compelling sentences in the active voice.
Harkening back to the days of high school English class, voice is an important element of speech and literature. With active voice, the subject does something while in passive voice, something is done to the subject.
An example of the active voice: Rachel sent the letter on Thursday.
An example of the passive voice: The letter was sent by Rachel on Thursday.
It’s obvious which sentence sounds better, clearer and more compelling. Most word processors will even try to correct the passive voice. In the venerable Elements of Style, William Strunk Jr., an English professor at Cornell University, writes, “Many a tame sentence of description or exposition can be made lively and empathetic by substituting a transitive in the active voice for some such perfunctory expression as there is or could be heard.” Always use active voice when possible. Your content will sound more compelling, interesting and animated.
Of course, there are certain reasons for using the passive voice. First and foremost, having the option of using both the passive and active voice creates greater nuance and variety among sentences. Also, the passive voice should be used when the object of action is more important than the subject (i.e. Obama was elected President) or when the agent is unknown, unimportant or not worth mentioning (i.e. The store was robbed last night).
The fundamental problem with using the passive voice, especially in presentations, is that it seems like an evasion of responsibility. Rather than the subject doing something, something is happening to the subject, insinuating that the subject had no control over the action. Imagine giving an important presentation to a big client or a potential investor, and saying either “We missed our goal by 15% this year…” or “Our goal was missed by 15%…” The latter, in passive voice, sounds cowardly, as if you’re not taking responsibility for the problem, while the former, in active voice, sounds credible and accountable.
Credibility is the most important characteristic of a presenter. Without it, the audience will be skeptical and untrusting of the entire presentation. An easy, often inadvertent way to lose that credibility is by speaking heavily in the passive voice. Maintain your credibility by engaging the audience with an active, captivating voice.
Another benefit of an active voice is that you will deliver your presentation with more emotion. Sentences simply sound better and create a clearer visual in the mind of the audience in active voice. We’re an emotional bunch, sometimes despite outward appearances, and it’s always beneficial to evoke emotion with your speech. The audience is much more likely to be persuaded by your presentation when you’ve got them by the heart.
