Is it drizzling or pouring?
How many different ways can you think of to describe rain?
Here are just a few:
- Drizzling;
- spitting;
- raining steadily;
- pouring;
- tipping it down;
- chucking it down;
- p***ing it down;
- bucketing down;
- raining cats and dogs
The English language is a wonderful thing and most of the above give a clear idea of how heavily it’s raining – but if you use them to set the scene in your story, will your audience know what they mean?
If they’re not native English speakers, possibly not.
While I’m not suggesting you stop using descriptive language to bring your stories to life, you do need to think about using language that can be understood.
If you really want to use a colloquial phrase, think about using body language and vocal expression to convey the message.
Think about your audience and find out if there will be non-native speakers among them.
(PS French speakers use ‘…comme une vache qui pisse.’ How descriptive is that?)
To find out how I can help you create your content. please get in touch.
https://calendly.com/storycoach/30min
Rachel Maunder is a communication skills and speaker coach and professional speaker.
She has been in the world of competent communication, in different guises, for more than 30 years so has a wealth of knowledge, experience and expertise to pass on to her clients, both through her signature programmes and her own presentations.
You can find out more about her coaching programmes here and about her speaking topics here.