Active vs. Passive Voice

Why this matters

Passive voice hides the actor and softens the action — both of which kill persuasion. Readers process active sentences faster and trust them more, which is why every direct-response copywriter defaults to active constructions from the first draft.

Try it yourself

1. Take the last email or landing page you wrote and highlight every sentence where the subject is not doing the verb — count passive instances before editing any.
2. Rewrite the three most passive sentences by naming the actor first and making the verb land on the object directly.
3. Read both versions aloud and record which feels more urgent — the original or the rewrite.

References

• Purdue OWL — Active and Passive Voice