Today is another entry in the Character Under A Microscope series where I dig deeper into character development to help you make your characters realistic. This time we will examine why your characters talk. Seems simple, right? They talk to communicate with others. While communication is the overarching goal of speaking, I want to look closer at what motivates your characters to talk. Once you know this, you will have a good idea of your character’s voice. There are several different ways to approach talking, and today I’ll list five motivators that I’ve noticed in people.
To Inform
There are some people who speak to pass on information. They want to teach others. These people don’t add anything to a conversation unless they think it’s important. Because of that, they tend to be the quieter people, yet the ones everyone stops to listen to when they do speak. I think these people generally speak in facts, not opinions. I’m not saying they don’t have opinions, they just tend to word them more as a presentation of facts that prove their opinion rather than stating their personal view of things.
To Encourage
Some people feel that the purpose of talking is encouragement. They word everything to make sure the other doesn’t take offense, and they go out of their way to use uplifting language. Granted, everyone has moments of anger, but even then they tend to word their feelings in a non-confrontational way. They will hedge their language with phrases like “it would be nice if” and “if you don’t mind” and “maybe.” These people have a way of making everything sound wonderful even if it isn’t. They view their speech as a superpower that can change lives and make bad situations seem better. Because of that, they are generally optimists.
To Connect
A lot of people talk to feel connected to others. They want that push and pull of a conversation. They crave the feeling of being heard and understood. Because of that, they often talk in a way that encourages participation. They ask questions and leave pauses for others to speak. They love people who show an interest in them by asking questions and giving a lot of nonverbal feedback (such as nodding and smiling). A one-sided conversation tends to make them feel uncomfortable unless the talk is a heart-to-heart where they can tell the person not speaking is connecting to them nonverbally in a supportive way.
To Get A Reaction
Of course, there are those who speak only to get a reaction from others. These people can be entertainers who love making people laugh. They can be bullies who only talk to make others angry or embarrassed. There are all kinds of reactions that people can seek, but they all do it to impact others—either for good or bad. These people tend to like the power of making others feel whatever they want. They are often wordsmiths, knowing how to weave language in the most impactful way. That doesn’t mean they all talk flowery prose though. Sometimes a curt sentence is the most impactful. Regardless, they use words like a weapon to either help or hinder others.
To Be In The Spotlight
The last group of talkers are those who speak to be the center of attention. They don’t care if others react to them or if they connect with other people. They just want the attention. As long as people are focused on them, they keep talking. Their speech is often like word-vomit, continuous and not well-crafted. The more they say, the less time others have to take the spotlight. Because of their desire to hold the attention, they usually just speak whatever comes to their minds first. This results in long accounts of what they’ve seen or done, making their speech more like a story (though not always an engaging one) so others won’t have a good place to interrupt.
Final Thoughts
I’m sure there are other motivators for people to speak, but these are the top five I’ve seen. By figuring out how your character will view talking, you’ll have an easier time finding his voice and keeping it consistent. If he is an attention-seeker, he’ll use more words than needed to say what he means while a person who talks to inform will take the concise path. People who want to encourage and people who want to connect both care what others think of them, but an encourager might lie to gain someone’s good opinion while a connection-seeker would speak the truth to bolster real understanding. There are many things that go into crafting characters, but this is a great baseline for finding their voices.
Thanks for reading!
Write a tale
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