Should I Address My Reader by Using the Pronoun You or We?
When I’m writing, should I address my reader by using the pronoun “you” or “we?”
The answer?
Both.
Let me explain with an example.
Notice in this excerpt from a devotion I wrote that I’ve italicized you pronouns and emboldened we pronouns.
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Excerpt from “Do You Think I’m Beautiful?”
by Melanie S. Chitwood taken from Real Life Devotional Bible for Women
…Today I would dance anywhere because I’m in a dancing mood.
Why? I got a new pair of boots. And these are not sensible boots. They are high-heeled and impractical. Today they make me feel beautiful.
Do you remember longing to be beautiful? Sometimes we hide from the longing. We wonder if a good Christian woman is vain if she wants to be beautiful. Shouldn’t we be more concerned with our character than our outward beauty? So, we try to discard our longing by telling ourselves that physical beauty is a useless pursuit….
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Notice that after my introduction of a short little story about my boots, I then turn my writing to addressing the reader with a question, Do you remember longing to be beautiful?
I use the pronoun you to talk to my reader. Using the pronoun you is called second person point-of-view, in case you like to know that kind of thing. Asking a question at this point is a great practice so that your writer feels included. With the question, you’re inviting her into the story.
But then notice that I switch to using the pronoun we: Sometimes we hide from the longing, etc. Using the pronouns we, our, us is called first person plural point-of-view.
Using the we pronoun is a way to include the reader –along with yourself. The two of you are in this together, experiencing life and learning together what God is teaching you both.
Could I have continued with you, like this?
Do you remember longing to be beautiful? Sometimes you might hide from the longing. You wonder if a good Christian woman is vain if she wants to be beautiful, etc.
Yes, I could have continued using you, writing in second person point-of-view.
But that’s not what I recommend.
Using we, first person plural point-of-view, is better because it’s more inclusive in that it includes your, the writer, along with the reader.
It makes your writer feel like you’re walking side-by-side.
On the other hand, second person point-of-view, using you, can make the reader feel talked at. Like you’re the expert and you’re talking at her or down to her. Obviously, that’s not how you want your reader to feel!
So my advice is to use you in the questions to your reader, and then to use we in other areas where you address the reader.
Go back and check something you’ve written to see if switching from you language to we language might be better.
Thank you for being here! Hope this helped, and if you have questions, feel free to ask!
~Melanie
If you’ve purchased a copy of one of my workbooks, How to Write a Devotion: Workbook with Steps to Create a Devotion or Devotional Blog Post, or How to Use Scripture in Your Writing: A Quick Guide to Documenting and Writing with Scripture.– thank you for purchasing! If you have a chance to leave a quick review on Amazon, I would be so thankful!
If you haven’t purchased, I think you’ll find them so helpful – and at the affordable prices of $9.99 and $7.99!
One more thing – My friend Amy Carroll has written a great book for speakers, How to Write a Meaningful Message. No matter what your speaking platform looks like, it’s a valuable resource to use again and again.
