Tone of Voice and Style Guide

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We are highly experienced tone-of-voice guide writers and style guide writers. We also train staff to use them.

Your tone-of-voice guide

Words can inspire, change perceptions, shape identity and express values. Basically, what you say and how you say it shapes your public image. As experienced tone-of-voice guide writers we can help you to better reflect your values in how you write. We can explain how to write your way, create examples of tone-of-voice in action, and articulate some basic writing principles.

Workshop

Our two-hour workshop will isolate three to four tone-of-voice principles that will form the basis of developing a tone-of-voice.
With a more consistent and distinctive way of talking, people will be able to better recognise and relate to you. And that has got to be a good thing.

A good tone-of-voice or communications protocol document will:

  • Eliminate errors in punctuation, grammar, spelling, etc
  • Improve the consistent interpretation and application of the tone-of-voice
  • Deliver more effective communication by reducing length, noise and competing messages
  • Improve the overall quality of writing
  • Better support writers and approvers, including non-writing specialists like the legal team and product managers

The contents of your tone-of-voice guide will typically encompass:

  • The importance of the right words and tone
  • Who the guide is for
  • What tone-of-voice is
  • What the client’s tone-of-voice is (how tone-of-voice principles from the workshop are used in your communications)
  • Applying tone-of-voice to real-life examples
  • Better writing tips for each asset
  • A technical style guide covering punctuation, grammar, spelling, dates, times, figures, abbreviations, hyphens etc

Your Style Guide

Consistency in communications is important.

Our style guide writers will help you establish the rules you want to apply across all your comms. This can range from whether you choose to write % or per cent, use sentence case in titles, prefer single or double quote marks, and your final word on punctuation conventions. All this gives your material a more professional look. It makes things easier for the writers and editors you hire, whether they’re in-house or freelancers. It also gets you thinking about how you want your material to represent you.

  • Copywriters
  • People briefing and reviewing copy
  • Anyone facing customers, partners and suppliers
  • Product and service teams
  • Brand and marketing team
  • Human resources
  • Agencies

Better Writing Tips

Only write something if it benefits someone. After all, reading our content should be an uplifting experience.

Be clear and helpful. Our customers have to navigate our site by themselves, so your copy and text should guide them, as if there.

Keep it short. Write short succinct sentences.

Write for scanners and skimmers. Break information into bitesize units, using two-sentence paragraphs introduced by frequent sub-headings (at least one per screen). Bulleted or numbered lists help customers to digest information at a glance.

APM’s clients include