You may never have heard of, or used a ‘tone of voice’ guideline before, however it sets out how we want to engage with our clients, colleagues and the public across all of our communications. From writing an email to sending a letter, we want to make sure that our brand’s voice is always consistent. Using this guide will help us do this.
The style we use is clear and conversational. We aim to explain difficult concepts in an easy-to-understand way and we want all of our audiences to understand our communications. Using a conversational style makes us engaging and accessible.
We’re direct, positive and honest. We avoid using words like ‘sadly’ or ‘unfortunately’ and simply state the facts. We’re as constructive as possible, approaching negative situations appropriately, and advising people of the consequences as well as how to avoid the situation or put it right.
To reflect our brand values we need to sound warm and approachable. We’re also empathetic, not sympathetic. We put ourselves in our clients’ shoes, rather than just expressing pity for them through sympathy.