Top 3 Tips for Describing People That Require Zero Effort

He looks like the lovechild of Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran. She dresses like a K-pop star. Do you hear descriptions like that floating around in everyday life? How do you describe people? If you struggle with coming up with concrete descriptions, here are some tips for you.

Physical appearance

1. Facial features

When describing people, start with their face - what’s the shape of their nose like? What about their eyebrows? Are their eyes big or small? Travel down their faces feature by feature – start with their eyebrows, then their eyes, nose and lips.

2. Physical features

Pan out to the bigger picture next - how's their skin? Are they fair or tan? Do they have a clear complexion with a rosy hue, or is it freckled and blotchy. What about their hair? Is it short or long? If it's long, is it tied?

Also, what about their size? If a person is particularly tall or short, it may be advisable to add a few lines of description to that.

3. Clothes

Afterwards, pan out even more. What about their clothes? Are they dressed in a uniform? If you have trouble describing what they’re wearing, go for the colour. What shade of green is his shirt? Is it a vibrant emerald or a sickly green? Is the person's way of dressing neat or tardy? Do the colours clash horrendously or complement each other smoothly?

Example: Describing a person (physical appearance)

Paragraph by Sean

The teacher had long hair tied into a bun. Her eyebrows were dark and her eyes were serious. She had a hooked nose and she was frowning. She was very pale. She wore a yellow dress and black heels. Her nails were red and long.

While this paragraph had sufficient details and went through the teacher's features as instructed, it can still be improved with additional details like colour and better vocabulary.

Paragraph by Andrew

The teacher’s ebony hair was coiled deftly into a tight bun that was stuffed full of pins. Her eyebrows were arched smartly and her dark brown eyes had a serious light to them. Her aquiline nose and her lips, which were coloured a deep red, gave her an intimidating aura. Her yellow dress was a shade of a daffodil that served to contrast her black heels. Her nails, which were so long they could pass off as claws, were painted an eye-catching auburn.