Voice is the University’s personality.
“Voice doesn’t change much from day to day. Like your own individual personality, it comes through in all your content and influences how people perceive you.” (Nicely Said, Writing for the Web).
Tone changes to fit the situation.
“While your voice is about you, your tone is about your readers and how they feel.” (Nicely Said, Writing for the Web).
Together your voice and tone make up your writing style.
Brand Voice
The University of Lethbridge is…
- Confident but not arrogant
- Personal and conversational but not unprofessional
- Smart but not pedantic
- Enthusiast/Visionary yet real
- Inspirational but not fluffy
We are:
- Creative – involves pushing boundaries, with new items, new method, new activities
- Supportive – means providing the encouragement, direction and services people to succeed
- Engaging – means finding learning exciting and excitement contagious
- Approachable – involves making complex subjects accessible an interesting
- Emergent – means moving, always growing by expanding what we do well
Our writing style is professional yet conversational. We appeal to curiosity – inspire thought.
To emphasis the personal, supportive experience here, we tell personal stories of our students, faculty, staff and alumni.
Tone
Tone changes slightly based on audience. Here are a few things to keep in mind:
- Prospective student: This audience is between 15- to 18-age range. The tone is a little more fun and trendy while still being professional. Be wary not to try to be too cool. Remember – they are a tough crowd and a cynical audience.
- Parent/Influencer: Keep in mind, this audience is entrusting us with their child and a significant financial investment. The tone needs to be professional, personal and supportive. Need to show outcomes and quality.
- Students: Personal, supportive and encouraging
- Internal faculty and staff: This audience is our family – communications need to build community and pride.
- Alumni: Alumni are also part of our family. They have invested their time and their money with us. They are familiar with us. Communications need to generate pride, show quality and build community.
- Donor: Although the tone will change depending on the audience – if you’re speaking to a corporation or someone looking to make a planned gift – it’s key to illustrate that the U of L is an excellent investment. Be personal and professional while showing quality.
- External audience: Need to be aware if you’re speaking to a local audience, a provincial audience, a national audience or an international audience. The tone will change based on how familiar the audience is with us (as an institution and even our city).