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Use 2nd Person Perspective for Focused and Engaging Writing

If you want a smoother writing process and results that speak to your audience, stick with 2nd person perspective.

Different Perspectives for Different Situations

As you might remember from English class, there are three different perspectives you can use in writing and speaking. They’re called 1st, 2nd, and 3rd person, and each one has its uses.

1st person perspective focuses on the speaker with words like “I”, “me”, “mine”, “us”, “we”, and “ours”. An author would use 1st person perspective to tell a story from a character’s point of view. You use this perspective to talk about yourself or a group you belong to.

3rd person perspective is used to talk about people who aren’t around. These people are the “they”, “she”, and “he” of 3rd person perspective. They aren’t the writer/speaker and they aren’t the reader/listener. It’s great for telling stories and writing news articles.

2nd person perspective is in between these two. It’s the perspective you use to talk to someone who’s right in front of you with words like “you” and “yours”. You probably use the 2nd person perspective most in conversations with other people, when it would be rude to talk about them as if they weren’t there (3rd person) and also rude to talk only about yourself (1st person).

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