To find the tone of voice that fits you, as a company and as a person, you first
need to dive deeper into YOU. Who are you? What do you like to do? Why are you doing things in a certain way? And what are your goals? The answers to these questions make you the way you are. It will be the reason why others want to work with you or want to buy from you. Hence, before you even start thinking about your mission and vision and align your tone of voice with your business goals and targets, take this first step into you.
Take your time
Often clients struggle with their tone of voice. They do realize it’s important, but don’t know how to establish the right tone of voice. They follow the theoretical path to work on it, but don’t see results. To be honest, a tone of voice is not something you are able to build overnight. Finding your voice takes time. It takes time because it’s not just you who is deciding. It also depends on the interaction you are able to establish. With your customers, partners, suppliers, and every other stakeholder you can think of. Are you able to engage? How are they communicating with each other and how do you fit in? It takes time as well, because it has to continuously fit with the journey of your business. How is that evolving and what does it mean for your tone of voice?
Keep it authentic
That said, there is hardly any wrong or right tone of voice. What kind of language you use and how formal or informal you will converse depends on the business you have but as well on the person you are. It needs to fit you. Otherwise it’s very difficult to connect. If your online existence isn’t the same as who you are in person, you will leave people you meet confused. If your print ads aren’t the same as your products, you won’t sell the product. So, the lesson here is to always keep it authentic. That’s the only way people are able to trust you and we all know that trust is needed to connect.
Get inspired
The biggest brands in the world have amazingly shaped tone of voices. It’s good to look around in your everyday life and think about words and videos you like or not. How does it make you feel? Do you see a fit for humor in your brand, bold statements, scholar explanations or sarcastic moves? Imagine you and your brand using a certain tone of voice. Try to find out which 5 descriptions will fit you.
I personally love this ad from Nike that will want you to dream big.
Or this from Heineken, using a bit of satire to send their socially involved message across.
Start with an archetype
As it’s a process to find your voice. A lot of elements can help you narrow it down. One fun way to kick start your tone of voice is with a quiz. If you want to quickly find out your starting point I suggest you do the quick quiz that I’ve developed. From here on you can work on your tone one voice. Let me know if you need a hand!
