HOW TO DEVELOP TONE OF VOICE

Go on any website, any company website and really look at the words they use.

I'm a word nerd, and I love to do this analysis using the About Us section, because everyone's got an About Us section, so it's easy to compare apples to apples.

So if you go to three companies that are doing the same sort of thing and look at their three different about us sections, how do they read?

That's the assessment that I do.

How do they sound? Are they personality free? Do they have a personality? Are they goofy? Are they professional?

Is there anything there at all or is it totally vanilla?

That is tone of voice. And so when you're looking at a tone of voice project for your own company, you go out there, look at your competition and really do that analysis.

What do they sound like? Who do they sound like? Do they sound like your best friend? Do they sound like your mom? Do they sound like your second grade teacher?

Is it annoying? Is it fun? Is it engaging? So ask yourself those questions and then go read your own and you'll be like, oh yeah, I see.

I missed the boat here.

So, how do you develop a tone of voice? Well, it's through key messages, but it's also through developing a lexicon of words that you like that you find, get across the feeling, but also the message of what your brand stands for.

Who you are, what you have to sell, what kind of an organization are you?

And if you use those words and those key messages on a regular basis, you're going to start developing a voice out there in the world.

You use them in your press releases, you use them in speeches, you use them around the office.

And then you're going to be developing that tone that everyone can share in the development of.

That over time is a tone of voice, and it can be super fun and very persuasive because that personality that comes into your messaging is part of the connective tissue that exists between you and your customer.

It's a way of making your business feel more personal, feel more like a friend, feel more like someone they want to do business with.

That's powerful. And that's why it's kind of sad, as a word nerd, that most people completely overlook it.

So it's a great little opportunity piece, and it's free!

Just choose different words and use them all the time!