Voice and tone

How we speak in a unified brand voice

What is voice and tone?

Our voice is our brand personality and who we are. This remains consistent across everything that we write.

The tone is how our voice flexes in specific scenarios.

Imagine our brand traits are on a slider. Everything we write has elements of these traits, but we can dial up and down the intensity so that our voice flexes accordingly for the situation.

Choosing the right tone

To help you figure out the right tone for what you’re working one, ask yourself:

  • Where does the copy live?
    Consider the component, device, and platform.
  • What’s the primary purpose of the copy?
    Is it informational, or maybe to confirm success of an action? An alert of some sort?
  • Is this a message that requires sensitivity?
    Usually, these scenarios entail communicating with potentially at-risk users about difficult financial matters like debt.
  • Did we make a mistake that has potentially impacted the customer negatively?
    Honest mistake or not, we need to take accountability and apologise sincerely to those affected.

Our brand traits

Our tone always flexes in accordance to our brand traits. This is reflected in our writing through being:

  • always inclusive
  • mostly straight-talking
  • optimistic and gutsy when appropriate

Conversational not chatty

Simple but never dull

Universal not niche

To help customers feel welcome

Transparent not frank

Concise not curt

Simple not immature

To help customers feel respected

Engaging not exhausting

Passionate not passive

Hopeful but realistic

To help customers feel motivated

Bold not reckless

Confident not boastful

Eager but not pushy

To help customers feel inspired

When we’ve made a mistake

If we’ve caused confusion or upset to the customer, even if it’s not intentional, we should earnestly apologise and take accountability for our actions.

Scenarios

More serious

Inaccurate bills

Overcharged on bills

Accidental send of unnecessary urgent or warning message

Somewhat serious

Industry changes that will negatively impact the customer (COL)

Error pages or notifications

Less serious

When a site page doesn't load

When a request cannot be completed, including customer error

While apologies acknowledge the negative impact we may have caused, accountability takes responsibility for our actions while also communicating that we intend to do better or avoid making the same mistake again.

Remember, the two can be linked but can also can exist independently. It’s knowing when they need to be combined in our messaging.

And of course, this type of messaging can have a delicate context, so it’s about making sure we speak with humanity while still keeping it professional and not overly emotive.

Do
  • Start your sentence with a declarative, clearly outlining the issue or situation to the customer
  • Explain why or how the situation occurred when possible
  • Use first-person pronouns to talk about OVO –"we", "us"
  • Provide a link to the relevant support contact information if needed
Don't
  • Make false promises
  • Use comical phrases like “oops”, puns, or silly verbiage
  • Be overly apologetic
  • Use intensifiers like "so sorry" – this can actually make the communication sound less genuine

Example of an apology

Do

You’ve been charged the wrong amount

Hello, {First_Name}.

We overcharged you recently on your last bill. Your monthly payment is £XX, and in June, you were charged £XX.

This was due to a technical error on our end. We’re sorry for any inconvenience this has caused and will refund you the difference.

Don't

We want to own up to something…

We understand that you’ve been charged an incorrect amount on your most recent bill. This was because of a technical error and we’re so sorry for any inconvenience caused.