You

The easiest way to reveal your essence in your writing is to force it into the light by using the word “I”.

For example:

It’s possible to make the argument = “I” think

The problem is that when we reveal ourselves with “I”, we become vulnerable and that scares us. Because, if it’s possible to make the argument, it’s also possible to deny the argument, and that's a safer place to speak from. We're worried that we'll be held accountable for what follows.

Business especially, is full of lame, opaque, unaccountable writing like:

• Objectives were set
• Investment was sought
• Initiatives have been undertaken
  
  

But, a company is a collection of individuals, each one of them an “I”.

Somewhere lurking in that corporation is an “I” who set an objective, an “I” who sought the investment, and an “I” who undertook the initiative.

Integrity, trust, and credibility come from writing in the first person because the writer is directly attached to the message. That's probably why most businesses deliver bad news from behind the shield of a team, management, or the brand name.

Your “I” is your personality or, more appropriately for writing, your voice.

And a single voice has many tones. For example, the way you ask for help will differ from how your friends ask for help. And you'll have your own way of telling someone to be quiet, which might be different from how your boss does it.

We can also soak up tones and take on characters that aren't really us because we learn by imitation. Which means you should pay attention to what you read. Just because it’s published, doesn’t mean it’s well written.

In real life, sitting at a bar, chatting to a friend are you really going to say "Investment was sought to procure new hires"? Nope, more like "We raised investment to expand the team".

Actually, more like “We just got a sh*t load of cash to hire a bunch of people”.

That last one, the closest to the truth, is insanely casual. But it's better to start with that, the real you, and work from there, rather than from some awkward character, with no personality, in a professional costume, spouting 'intelligent’ drivel.

That's not really you.

When you’re addressing your customer, you should use “you” more than “I”. You want to make that kind of writing all about them and why they should care. But there is a place for “I” in your copy.