Writing Dialogue That Sounds Like Real People Talk

The Dialogue Paradox

Natural dialogue doesn’t sound natural. Real speech is full of ums, repetition, interruptions, and tangents. Nobody wants to read that.

Good dialogue feels natural while being cleaner, faster, and more purposeful than actual speech. It’s a magic trick—seeming realistic while being carefully crafted.

In this guide:

• Why transcript-style dialogue fails
• The subtext technique
• How people really reveal information
• Dialogue tags that don’t suck

Real Speech vs. Good Dialogue

Real conversation (transcribed):

“So, um, I was thinking, you know, about that thing we talked about yesterday? Or was it Tuesday? Anyway, the thing with the, uh, the project deadline and everything, and I was wondering if maybe we could, like, push it back a little bit because I’ve got this other thing happening and—” “Wait, which project?” “The one I told you about last week, remember?”

Good dialogue (same information):

“About the deadline—” “Which one?” “Tuesday’s.” “Not happening.”

The second version conveys the same information faster, cleaner, with more tension.

What to Cut From Real Speech

Delete these automatically:

• “Um,” “uh,” “like,” “you know” (unless character-specific)
• Repetitive confirmations (“okay, okay, yeah, okay”)
• False starts that go nowhere
• Tangents unrelated to scene purpose
• Over-polite throat-clearing (“Excuse me, I was wondering if perhaps…”)

Keep the rhythm, lose the waste.

Dialogue Should Do Three Things at Once

Every line of dialogue should accomplish at least two of these:

1. Advance plot - Move story forward
2. Reveal character - Show personality/state of mind
3. Create tension - Increase conflict or stakes

Bad dialogue (does one thing):

“I went to the store this morning.”

Conveys information. Nothing else.

Good dialogue (does three things):

“I went to the store this morning.” Marcus kept his eyes on the road. “Your algorithm predicted I’d go to the pharmacy instead.”

• Plot: He’s tracking algorithm predictions
• Character: He’s testing/challenging the AI
• Tension: He’s trying to prove it wrong

When dialogue only conveys information, cut it and convey that information through narration instead.

People Lie (Even to Themselves)

Characters rarely say exactly what they mean. Good dialogue lives in the gap between what’s said and what’s meant.

What character says:

“I’m fine.”

What reader understands:

She’s not fine.

How we know:

“I’m fine.” Sarah’s hands were shaking. She put them in her pockets.

The dialogue plus physical action reveals subtext. The character lies. The body tells truth.

Subtext Exercise

Character A wants something from Character B but won’t ask directly. Write the conversation where they never mention the actual topic but both know what’s happening.

Example:

“How’s the project going?” “On schedule.” “Need any help?” “I’ve got it covered.” “Because if you needed an extra week—” “I said I’ve got it.”

They’re not talking about project status. They’re negotiating power and trust. Neither says that explicitly.

Confrontation Through Indirection

Real arguments escalate through indirection before exploding into directness.

Weak confrontation:

“I know you’re cheating on me.” “Yes, I am.”

Strong confrontation:

“You’re working late again.” “It’s deadline week.” “Your deadline was last month.” “New project came up.” “With Sarah?” “What’s that supposed to mean?” “You tell me.”

The strong version builds through indirect accusations. By the time someone states the truth directly, tension has escalated enough that the revelation has impact.

Dialogue Tags: Less is More

Good tags:

• Said
• Asked

Acceptable occasionally:

• Whispered (when volume matters)
• Shouted (when volume matters)
• Replied (when clarifying who’s speaking)

Never use:

• Ejaculated, expostulated, queried, opined
• Said with adverbs (said angrily, said softly, said sadly)

The dialogue itself should convey emotion. If you need an adverb to show emotion, rewrite the dialogue.

Bad:

“I hate you!” she said angrily.

Good:

“I hate you.”

The exclamation point and words themselves convey anger. “Said angrily” adds nothing.

When to Skip Tags Entirely

In two-person conversations, use action beats instead of tags:

“The algorithm’s making decisions now.” Marcus closed his laptop. “That was the goal.” “No. The goal was recommendations. This is control.” Sarah turned away from the window. “What’s the difference?”

The action beats tell us who’s speaking without needing “Marcus said” or “Sarah said.”

Rhythm and Pacing Through Dialogue

Fast pacing = short exchanges:

“Where is it?” “Gone.” “Gone where?” “Does it matter?”

Slow pacing = longer speeches:

“I need you to understand something. The AI isn’t making mistakes. It’s learning patterns we can’t see yet. Every choice it makes looks random until you step back and see the larger picture. That’s when you realize it’s been three moves ahead the entire time.”

Match rhythm to scene tension. High tension = short, rapid exchanges. Contemplative moments = longer speeches.

Interruption and Overlap

Real conversations interrupt each other. Show this with em dashes:

“I told you the algorithm was—” “The algorithm is fine.” “—was learning behaviors we didn’t program.”

The em dash shows the speaker cut off mid-sentence. This creates realistic overlap without writing “Marcus interrupted.”

Dialect and Accent: Handle With Care

Bad dialect:

“Ah reckon y’all shouldn’t be messin’ with them there machines, ya hear?”

Good character voice:

“You shouldn’t mess with machines you don’t understand.”

Add one or two distinctive speech patterns, not phonetic spelling of every word.

Distinctive patterns:

• Sentence structure (fragments vs. complete sentences)
• Word choice (formal vs. casual)
• Reference points (technical jargon vs. metaphors)
• Speech rhythm (short declarations vs. rambling)

One character speaks in technical precision. Another uses metaphors. That’s enough to distinguish them.

The Read-Aloud Test

Read every dialogue exchange out loud. If you stumble, readers will stumble.

Tests:

1. Can you speak it naturally?
2. Does it sound like a real person?
3. Can you tell characters apart without tags?

If you answer “no” to any of these, revise.

Common Dialogue Mistakes

1. Everyone sounds the same Give characters distinct voices through word choice and rhythm.

2. Over-explaining Characters shouldn’t explain things both already know for reader benefit.

Bad:

“As you know, Marcus, we’ve been working together for five years at this company…”

Good:

“Five years.” Marcus closed the door. “And you never thought to mention you were dating the CEO?”

3. Complete sentences only Real people speak in fragments when appropriate.

Formal:

“I am not going to help you with that project.”

Natural:

“Not helping.”

4. No interruption or overlap People talk over each other, trail off, change subjects mid-sentence.

Exercise: Eavesdrop and Edit

1. Eavesdrop on a real conversation (coffee shop, train, etc.)
2. Transcribe 2 minutes exactly as spoken
3. Edit it down to the essence
4. Remove filler, repetition, and tangents
5. Compare before and after

You’ll see how much real speech includes unnecessary words. Your edited version should be 50-70% shorter while conveying the same information.

Dialogue as Character Development

What characters refuse to say reveals as much as what they do say.

Example:

“How’s your mom?” Marcus looked at his coffee. “Same.” “Still not visiting?” “Traffic’s bad this time of year.”

Marcus won’t admit he’s avoiding his mother. His deflection (blaming traffic) tells us more than direct admission would.

The Rule: Show Discomfort in What’s Not Said

When characters avoid topics, show the avoidance through subject changes, vague answers, or deflection.

See dialogue techniques in action: Read conversations in our story collection and analyze how characters reveal themselves through what they say—and don’t say.

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Joe Kryo writes dialogue that advances plot while revealing character. Every line serves multiple purposes. Nothing wastes space.