What Is the Best POV to Use for Articles?

Exploring the first, second, and third-person point of view

Point of view (POV) is the eye or lens through which a writer tells his story. It decides how a writer explores and how the reader understands and participates in a story. Figuring out what POV to use in telling your story is the most important question to ask before you start typing.

Sometimes you commit to a point of view when writing and then later find that it's not working very much for the purpose of the story. Or you realize you keep switching points of view, although it's possible to switch POVs.

When it comes to choosing the right POV, it's a matter of choice. It's about how you want to come across. It's about the tone and voice you want to use and the impact you want to have on the reader.

There are three POVs: the first, second, and third.

First Person: Puts the Reader in the Front Row Seat

In the first person POV, we hear a lot of “I,” “me,” “we,” and “us.” It tells the story from the writer's perspective describing the event to readers in his or her own way and reaction to the event. The first person point of view gives the reader an intimate look into the story and puts the reader in the front row seat. The reader explores the story through the eyes of the writer. This seems like the most natural because it creates intimacy when the writer describes events to the reader in raw emotion, actions, and reactions.

Example of the first-person POV

I was hurt when I realized I couldn't make it home on time to be with my family after my dad passed. My family needed me and I couldn't be there with them. It wasn't my fault. The borders were closed. Visa processing was suspended. Mandatory quarantines were required upon arrival. It was just too much to go through.

Advantages of using the first person POV

• You can immediately connect with the reader.
• The first-person point of view builds rapport by telling a personal story.
• Bringing the reader in close creates intimacy and therefore makes the writer appear credible.
• It’s effective in creating suspense in a story.

Disadvantages of using the first person POV

• The writer is limited to writing from one perspective.
• It limits a reader’s access to information. They only know and experience what the writer experiences.

Second Person: Brings the Reader in the Story

In the second-person POV, you hear a lot of “you.” It creates an interactive experience by bringing the reader into the story. It is common in nonfiction, like self-help books. It can be tricky to execute it without sounding bossy but it can be done and done well without sounding too authoritative. It creates excitement when the reader finds themselves in the middle of the action as if the events are happening to them.

Example of the second person POV

“You thought healing was a one-time thing. You thought you heal your pain once and you never feel it again. You thought to let go of the past meant the end of the chapter. But to your surprise, the things you thought you have healed and put behind you come to the surface.

You feel the pain as if it was happening now when it happened months, even years ago. How can you heal something and put it in the past only for it to feel as if you never did the healing work at all?” — Excerpt from “Turn to Self-Compassion When You Feel Lost”

Advantages of using the second person POV

• It immediately brings the reader into the action.
• It creates excitement when the reader feels as if the event is happening to them.

Disadvantages of using the second person POV

• It is the hardest point of view to do without sounding bossy.
• It can be very easy to slip back into writing from your perspective.

Third-Person: Creates a Birds-Eye View

In the third-person, the writer uses the pronouns “he,” “she,” and “they,” or by referring to characters by name. The writer can shine the spotlight on more than one character creating a birds-eye view of the story. The writer can also focus on the character with the most to learn or lose.

Third-person gives the reader distance from the characters of the story. Unlike the first and second person, the reader is not directly involved in the story. It gives the writer more flexibility by widening the lens from one character to the world around the character.

Examples

“He drank an Anis at the bar and looked at the people. They were all waiting reasonably for the train. He went out through the bead curtain. She was sitting at the table and smiled at him.” — Ernest Hemingway, Hills Like White Elephants.

“He is just what a young man ought to be, said she, sensible, good-humored, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! So much ease, with such perfect good breeding!” — Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice.

Advantage of using the third person POV

• The writer can write from a much broader perspective.

Disadvantage of using the third person POV

• It can be hard to establish a connection with the reader.

It’s a Matter of Choice

There are advantages and disadvantages to every point of view. A story can be told in different POV and still end up being a brilliant story. But some stories are better told through a specific point of view.

In the first person POV, you can immediately connect with your reader. In the second person, you bring the reader into the action with you, and the third person POV is told from a birds-eye view. Choosing which one is best for you is a matter of choice and capability.

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