What do you think about the conversational writing style and the way that the book is presented?

Use this forum to discuss the May 2021 Book of the month, "Fear Not, Dream Big, & Execute: Tools To Spark Your Dream And Ignite Your Follow-Through" by Jeff Meyer.
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PJfiremeyer22
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Re: What do you think about the conversational writing style and the way that the book is presented?

Post by PJfiremeyer22 »

What a great question! And, thank you for all of the insightful comments. I'll take a shot at posting my own answer to this question. First, thank you for noticing that I tried to create a conversation with this book. Reading books do not guarantee transformation. Conversation in a safe and invested community focused on encouragement and accountability do give us a better chance at it though. It's one of the reasons why I was so resistant to publishing the book. It's also why the Try This sections are so important. Even better, do the Try This Section with a supportive community. Thanks again.
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Post by _claudi_ »

Self-help books make books more interactive and less boring. So I think it is a smart way of writing and keeping the readers attentive to the point being passed across.
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Post by cd20 »

I love the conversational tone of the book. It makes the book much more interesting. I also love the way the author sets the book up so you don't have to read the whole thing if you don't need to. It's a great way to do it.
Real life is dreadfully tedious, the way it interrupts reading. -Things We Didn't Say by Amy Lynn Green
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Post by ROSEY-ANN »

The conversational style of writing is appealing because it gives the impression of an open invitation to each reader and the layout had a flow to it ,a directness and conciseness which is appreciated.
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Post by Katherine Smith »

The way that the book is presented is quite unique and I do like that about the author. I think that many of us either have a dream and do not know what to do about it or feel like we want a change in our lives. I also enjoy that the author makes the reader feel comfortable disclosing his or her struggles by making the tone of the book more relaxed than other self-help books.
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Post by SweetSourSalty AndSpicy »

The conversational style makes the presentation more casual. It makes the ideas easier to absorb. Likewise, a book that can be customized to the needs of the reader is efficient.
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

Saint Bruno wrote: 01 May 2021, 00:49 Of course! I think self-help books written in a conversational tone not only makes the book more engaging but makes the reader to grab the message in a more relaxed frame of mind. So this author's participatory approach is commendable.
Very commendable as it causes the reader to be very interactive with the text thus making him or her more open to the knowledge or tips hat the author is dropping. I would say this is a very nice writing style.
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

WADonnelly wrote: 02 May 2021, 11:27 Personally, I like when self-help books are written with a conversational style as it makes it easy to follow and it is far easier to drop in and out of various parts of the book. Being about to read the book in whatever order the reader desires is also a great way to meet a range of readers needs.
Yes, indeed. The loose and interconnected feel of the book gives the reader a sense of fluidity that would otherwise not be available in most traditional self help books. This conversational style serves to hold the readers interest making him kore interactive.
"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends"- Albus Dumbledore
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Post by Ahbed Nadir »

Parahiyo wrote: 05 May 2021, 00:42 I think this conversational writing style is good. The author has been able to involve the readers to physically participate by including the ''Try this'' section at the end of this chapter. This actually makes one feel like the motivational session given actively. Self-help writers should take on this form of writing.
The Try This section was especially interactive as it drew me in and made me participate in a set of surprisingly enjoyable and educative exercises. This style of writing serves as a medium of exchange for knowledge that is extremely educative and at the same time quite fun to partake in.
"It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends"- Albus Dumbledore
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Ahbed Nadir wrote: 10 May 2021, 12:11 The conversational nature of this book was an unexpected but delightful surprise. I had these books when I was younger that offered different choices or different scenes that could be played out and it was always a delight to me to see how my choices and actions could lead to different eventualities. I feel the author has employed something of the same tactic here and its something to be commended. He recognizes that people are at different levels and as such need different levels of attention or teaching. This is a style that is uniquely conducive to a self-help book and I was pleased to see it.
I do not think that this book shows what consequences that your action will give. The author has written this book in a way to let the reader to choose what he reads or not. For that it is better if the reader has a proper understanding of his self.

I too have read those books that let you choose what happens next and then will lead you to various sorts of endings. But this book is not such a book.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

PJfiremeyer22 wrote: 11 May 2021, 08:40 What a great question! And, thank you for all of the insightful comments. I'll take a shot at posting my own answer to this question. First, thank you for noticing that I tried to create a conversation with this book. Reading books do not guarantee transformation. Conversation in a safe and invested community focused on encouragement and accountability do give us a better chance at it though. It's one of the reasons why I was so resistant to publishing the book. It's also why the Try This sections are so important. Even better, do the Try This Section with a supportive community. Thanks again.
It is a great pleasure to see the author himself participating in a discussion about his book. Your thoughts are very correct. Just reading a book won't transform a person. He will just finish it, close it, and keep it aside. But here with your book you invite the reader to try what is told in the chapter. So there is a high chance for the reader to do that. If most of these 'try this' sections are fulfilled by the reader, he will be automatically transformed by the end of the book.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

_claudi_ wrote: 11 May 2021, 11:17 Self-help books make books more interactive and less boring. So I think it is a smart way of writing and keeping the readers attentive to the point being passed across.
Good point. Most of the self-help books are written in a quite serous manner with difficult words in order to include some gravity to the book. But that approach can avert the 'not very strong minded' readers. The unique approach that this author has used has been able to keep the reader engaged in the read, so it is well accepted by a wide audience.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

cd20 wrote: 11 May 2021, 13:33 I love the conversational tone of the book. It makes the book much more interesting. I also love the way the author sets the book up so you don't have to read the whole thing if you don't need to. It's a great way to do it.
Yes, the author has done a great thing to those who have no intention to sit at one place and read the whole thing. Anyone can select a part from the book which is really needed or will be needed to his life and read only that part.

But there is a small issue that I see in that approach. How can a person exactly know which part has to be read to complete a lacking part of his life?
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

ROSEYANN wrote: 13 May 2021, 19:05 The conversational style of writing is appealing because it gives the impression of an open invitation to each reader and the layout had a flow to it ,a directness and conciseness which is appreciated.
Well said. The book is not a reading experience to the reader but a conversation between reader and the author. The reader will be more compliant to do whatever the book suggests due to this conversational writing style.

Most importantly the 'Try this' sections of the book increases that compliance because the author directly orders the reader to do certain things rather than merely suggesting things.
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Post by Sushan Ekanayake »

Katherine Smith wrote: 14 May 2021, 17:59 The way that the book is presented is quite unique and I do like that about the author. I think that many of us either have a dream and do not know what to do about it or feel like we want a change in our lives. I also enjoy that the author makes the reader feel comfortable disclosing his or her struggles by making the tone of the book more relaxed than other self-help books.
I agree. The author makes the reader feel that he is not alone and there are many in this world who either has no dreams or have no courage to fulfil their dreams. By knowing that at the very beginning the reader is relaxed and ready to fully disclose his self and be compliant with the book. The author becomes much more closer to the reader with the conversational writing style after that and ultimately it leads to the transformation of the reader.
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