Pleeeeaaase, explain to me …
Why do we drag out our vowels?
Elongating vowels creates a more casual tone by mimicking our intonation when we talk. You may think this technique is only for teenagers on social media but even Apple uses it on their website:
“The looongest battery life of any iPhone. Ever.”
And Will Reynolds writes in a blog post about SEO and AI disruption: “SEO has been “dead” or “dying” since before I got started in 1999.Mayyyybe it’s just an industry that changes a lot.
You can also lengthen certain consonants.
“Dammmmm. What a messss.”
So, this is an interesting technqiue, most commonly used on social media. Elsewhere, use in moderation or not at all. There is a risk your tone becomes unprofessional. Always consider who your learner is and what tone is appropriate for your conversation with them.
How casual should your learning writing be?
Your objective is not to make your writing as conversational and casual as possible.
Think about the topic you’re trying to teach your learner.
Consider your learner’s reaction and what feelings crop up when they’re reading your text. Also think about the context. Email learning tends to be most casual. eLearning texts tend to be conversational depending on the complexity of the subject.
Mostly, simple and clear writing is your aim.
Sometimes, you want to go a step further and turn your text into a conversation or make the tone more formal.
The bottom line is, how should you write to engage your learner so that the objective of your learning is met. The more you review your writing and how it matches your learner the more successful you will be as a learning designer.