Something I’m asked about from time to time, is why people, when writing marketing material, web pages, blog posts etc, use the third person, or sole traders use ‘we’ and ‘our’ instead of just ‘I’ or ‘my.’
This topic was brought up in discussion when I did my small business training years ago. A participant asked why it was that people in business wrote about themselves as if they were someone else, or sole-traders used plural pronouns rather than singular?
The reply was that writing in the third person allowed you to be a little distant from yourself and hopefully, clearer and more objective. It can be very hard to promote yourself (which you have to do in any business) using ‘I’ all the time. When working in the helping profession, this is not easy, as the focus is on the client, and not on oneself.
Likewise, the use of ‘we’ rather than ‘me’ all the time, represents all the training, support and information sources that lie behind whatever products or services the person is offering. When you think about it, it makes sense. In my case, for example, so many other people have contributed and continue to contribute to what I learn and do. When writing therefore, I use both ‘I’ and ‘we’ as sense dictates.
My work is enhanced and enriched by past training and ongoing professional development, supervision and continuous learning. From clients in counselling and workshops I learn many things. I owe much to the many others both professional and friends who have helped and supported me and still do. You are all part of the ‘we’ and ‘us’ that (I hope) you will read about on my website, forthcoming blogs and elsewhere.
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