Tapping into your Tone of Voice
Heard of tone of voice but not sure what it is or why it’s important?
Let’s dig into why you can’t ignore the power of a great tone of voice in your writing.
Making The Right Impression
When we meet people for the first time, we are given the opportunity to communicate with them on multiple levels. Facial expression, eye contact, body language, engagement, the words we use and of course, how we say them.
All of this helps us to make the best first impression we can, to intrigue the person we are speaking to enough that they want to carry on the conversation and find out more, and if wanted to build a mutually beneficial relationship or friendship going forward.
But when it comes to the written word we have far fewer tools at our disposal for making a great first impression. So we really have to utilise what we have, to make sure we are expressing ourselves in the very best way we can.
We need to focus on choosing the right words to say AND the right way to say them.
The way we speak or write is known as our ‘tone of voice’.
WHAT IS TONE OF VOICE?
Tone of voice is so much more than expressing anger or entertainment in a subject. When it comes to using written content to talk about our business and our brand, we need to convey our values, our ethos our brand identity.
We use it to be build trust and rapport, by creating a sense of familiarity, approachability and reliability. Your tone of voice is an effective form of communication in itself because it influences how your message is perceived and understood. By choosing the right tone, you can convey your message more effectively and resonate with your audience on an emotional level.
Building on this trust with a compelling tone of voice, and you’ll encourage engagement and connection from your audience, leading to increased loyalty and future advocacy.
Maybe you need to place yourself as a thought leader in your field, so you want to ensure you sound professional and knowledgeable. Or perhaps your brand needs to convey care and understanding, so your tone may be softer and more friendly than the former.
However you want to be perceived, your tone of voice should be consistent across all channels. This way your audience will come to recognise how you communicate and thus trust in your brand even more.
How do you discover and define your own tone voice?
But where do you start when it comes to ensuring what you write, perfectly projects your own unique tone of voice?
I want you to consider 5 tools tp help you develop and maintain the voice of your brand identity through your written copy.
Self-Discovery
Audience Analysis
Experimentation
Consistency
and
Feedback Loop
I’ll take you through each so that you can start to nail down your tone of voice and build strong business relationships with your audience.
Self Discovery - All about you
Take time to reflect on your own personality, values, and communication style. Consider what sets you apart and what makes you authentic. Maybe you have a strong sense of humour that you want to bring to the forefront, or on the other end of this scale, perhaps you gentle shyness is your biggest attribute and being quietly confident is your superpower.
Spend a little time freely writing, about anything at all. Notice the phrases you return to, the words that stand out and really resonate with you. It has to feel right to you first and foremost, as no one knows you like you do!
Becci McEvoy of @beheardsocials advises her audience to always read out their social media posts to ensure the language sits right with them before they hit publish.
Perhaps speak to others about how they see your communication style and how it expresses your personality. They may pick up on strengths you didn’t know you had that you can concentrate on in your writing.
Audience Analysis
This is an old favourite of mine, really get to know your ideal client and target audience.
By drilling down into who you want to focus on, and understanding their preferences on how they prefer to be communicated with, you’ll develop a strong base to build trust from. See what other content they are consuming and get a feel for the tone they find most appealing.
Listen to how they communicate, how do they express their frustrations and aspirations? If you can include their language in your copy you will automatically build trust as you are quite literally speaking their language.
Experimentation
Try out some writing exercises. Experiment with different tones and styles, think formal, conversational, relaxed, and see what feels most natural to you. Over time you can even test out different tones of voice in your copy to see which provokes the greater engagement from your audience.
And don’t be afraid to push boundaries and try unconventional approaches. Sometimes, the most unique and memorable tones emerge from experimentation.
Consistency
Develop a style guide that outlines your tone of voice, including your preferred language, tone and style. Something simple you can refer back to you when you need to, and also pass on to a team member when you start to outsource your copy.
Feedback Loop
Perhaps the most vital in the your arsenal of tools when getting your tone of voice just right.
Listen when you get feedback from clients, customers, and colleagues alike about your writing style. How it sounds in your head as you type may not be how it comes across on the page so be open to input from others, try not to see it as a criticism, rather an opportunity to adjust and improve.
“Get the tone of voice right on your social media posts by reading them out loud.
Tweaking what doesn’t feel right until you can read it out loud with confidence that it sounds like you”
So remember
Unleash your inner wordsmith by reflecting and journalling.
Decode your audience’s language, through research and conversation.
Dabble in the art of linguistics, by practising your writing, testing different styles and getting creative outside of the box.
Craft your consistency, and make it easy for yourself with a style guide reference.
Harmonise with feedback, talk to people and see how your copy is being interpreted. Keep an open mind and see where improvements might be made.
Looking to make an impact with your copy?
Still struggling with getting your tone of voice right, and you’re wondering if maybe I could help? Just get in touch here.
Let’s see how we can work together!
