First Person

First-person point of view is a very personal point of view, highly individualized, where either the writer, or the narrator, tells about something from a very personalized perspective. The narrator can tell about his/her feelings, experiences, thoughts, and dreams. The reader feels as if they have slipped into the body of someone else.

First person feels much more intimate.

Consider your reaction to the following two messages from your company congratulating you on your 10 year anniversary with the company.

The company congratulates you on your 10 year anniversary with us.

We congratulate you on your 10 year anniversary with us.

Most people would prefer the second message because it is much more intimate; it feels as if the company somehow cares about you. The first message, written in third person feels more removed.

Message 1 feels removed, and slightly insincere, while Message 2 feels much more personal, as if a person were talking to you, not a thing (the company).

What else do these messages convey?

Message 1 seems to suggest the company is a big, anonymous entity, and the people who run the company want to keep it that way. They want to be removed from their people. It makes it hard to envision even trying to make changes in such a company because you wouldn't feel comfortable bringing up an issue that might need changing. This implies a much more formal relationship, one where they might wish to keep their distance and not get too personal.

Message 2 makes you feel there are actual people in the head office who care about you and would likely be interested in hearing what you have to say about ways to improve the organization. It suggests a less formal organization, welcoming, and interested in its people. "We can talk to one another because we are real people and want to know how to make your work life better."

First person establishes a sense of intimacy where the writer wants to be very close to the reader. It is also a very subjective perspective. The writer expresses a very personal point of view from a very personal experience or emotional perspective.

Second Person

This is certainly a personal point of view, but the writer is speaking directly to the reader. In other words, I'm speaking directly to you, explaining things to you, telling you how to understand the difference between the various perspectives that can change the meaning of a passage.

Most "how-to" instructions are written in second person. Open up a cookbook and read the directions. Even if the word "you" does not appear, it is always implied in the directions.

Second person perspective can also help readers feel as if they are taking part in the actions being done, or are involved in the ideas being represented.

Third Person

Third person is a much more impersonal, removed perspective. The narrator is a third person, an outsider who is watching the events, and then relating them from a distance. In third person, there is usually no direct interaction with the narrator, and very rarely is there ever any reference to you, the reader. You can usually tell that you're reading third person because of the choice of personal pronouns:

He	She	It	They
Him	Her	It	Them
His	Hers	Its	Theirs

Third person creates a sense of distance where the writer wants to create some distance between the reader and him/herself.

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