Many of us have seen the spellcheck on our devices suggest that we revise from passive voice to the active.
OK.
What if we don’t know what that means? What is active voice?
When we talk about active and passive voice, we are talking about the action described by the verbs in the sentence. When you use the ACTIVE, the subject is DOING the action of the verb. When in PASSIVE, the subject has the action of the verb DONE TO THEM.
Active voice means that the DOER of the action is the subject of the sentence. For example:
| Doer (subject) | Action (verb) | Goal (object) |
| Eddie | distributed | the memos. |
| The car | hit | the mailbox. |
Passive voice means that the GOAL appears in the subject position; the doer may appear in the object position.
| Goal (subject) | Action (verb) | Doer (object) |
| The memos | were distributed | by Eddie. |
| The mailbox | was hit by | the car. |
Shine the spotlight on the subject, rather than the object. Use the active and make your writing more appealing to your audience. Leave a stronger impression because something is happening now. Passive voice can make a sentence sound more unsure or noncommittal, it is in the past, we think it happened. Help the audience see clearly and ultimately trust more of what you’re saying.
Active voice is useful in creative writing to form the visual and move the story along, but it’s also important in business writing. When you’re trying to explain a complex subject or persuade your audience of your argument, it pays to keep your sentences short, clear, and convincing. Passive voice tends to be wordier.
Make it a doing statement, not a this was done statement. Use the right voice to effectively communicate both a mental picture and a solid argument.
This information is from the Effective Business Writing class. If you’re looking for ways to improve your communication skills, register for one of our public classes.
Other Resources for Active Voice:
Use the Active Voice – University of Wisconsin
Active vs Passive Voice | Grammar Lessons HowCast on YouTube
Why It’s Way Better to Use Active Voice – Ingenium Books
Rich Atkins is the Managing Director of Improving Communications, a New York-based corporate training firm that, in addition to Speaker Services, offers Business Writing, Public Speaking & Presentation Skills, Sales and Negotiation, Customer Service, Leadership, Staff Development, and Human Resources training. He is also the Director of Improving Communications UK and Improving Communications IE.