Style. I’ve been thinking about it quite a lot recently.
Both in terms of my YouTube videos and my written articles. What is style, why is it important, and what is my style? As I’ve said previously, if you focus on quantity over quality I genuinely think that your style will develop organically, especially as you become a lot more confident and comfortable in your presentation.
Amazingly, style can be defined as a noun or a verb…
Style
Noun
- a particular procedure by which something is done; a manner or way.
- a distinctive appearance, typically determined by the principles according to which something is designed.
Verb
- design or make in a particular form.
- designate with a particular name, description, or title.
But what does this really mean in the context of creating digital content?
For me, it means your personal journey that you go through, that makes a distinctive representation of your work to make it stand out.
Bit of a mouthful, I know. But in short, we’re looking for you to leave your stamp on your work, so that someone can watch, read, listen to it and instantly know that it’s yours.
Think about your favourite band. As soon as you hear their work, you recognise it’s theirs. Not because you recognise the song itself, but the components that make up the song. The drums, the guitar, the vocals etc. These independent elements create something unique and recognisable.
And that is what I want for my work.
My writing
I enjoy writing, a lot. More than I thought I would.
But my style is definitely not the most grammatically correct, or expertly crafted. It’s much more conversational. If you were sat in front of me, I would talk to you in the same way as I write. And not everyone will like that.
But that’s fine with me, because I like it.
I think it’s easy to read, and I feel like it also gets across my sincerity and honesty. I want my lovely readers to read this and feel like we’re having a drink and just chatting. This isn’t an essay or other piece of formal writing, so I’m going to keep it informal and friendly.
My Videos
This is where I struggle a little bit.
I’m trying to get some of my personality across, but I don’t find talking to a camera the easiest of tasks. But, with each video I record I start to feel more comfortable and relaxed. So I will be working on getting this laid back and friendly tone across a bit more. All in all, not too dissimilar to my writing style.
I’m also currently reading a book called Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks which is all about the art of story telling. I’m hoping this will make me feel a bit more comfortable in the process, which I think will let my own style come out a bit more.
But with both of these, it will take time. I look back on some of my work, and I think I’ve improved a fair bit, albeit there is much more improvement to come.
So do you have a style? And if so, have you nailed or it or is it still a work in progress?
