TONE OF VOICE

Does your internal communications tone of voice reflect your brand and your culture? Or does it sound like corporate speak? How your brand communicates with employees is just as important as how it speaks to customers or clients. Tone of voice is a powerful tool for connecting with employees — or it can backfire on you.

Here are five things you might want to avoid in your tone of voice:

Talking down to employees

The writing in a lot of well-intentioned internal communications comes off as unnecessarily patronizing. Or worse, like a schoolteacher instructing unruly students. When the tone of voice speaks to employees as peers instead of subordinates, it levels the playing field and shows respect for the people who make up your workforce.

Too much corporate speak

Would you say the words “synergize” or “utilize” in conversation with a friend? As much as possible, let your internal communications tone of voice reflect the way real people talk to each other, without using corporate jargon. When you lean too heavily on business buzzwords, it can make employees question what you’re really trying to say.

Thinking conversational means sloppy

Sometimes there’s a wide disparity between the company culture and the internal communications voice. If your culture is all about being agile, your tone of voice might use shorter, punchier sentences rather than long rambling paragraphs. Or if your culture is focused on safety and reliability, you probably don’t want your tone of voice to be too slapdash or witty.

Talking at people instead of with them

The goal is for internal communications to be an ongoing conversation, not a one-way flow of company information being spewed at employees. Tone of voice can help by being more conversational and starting with the expectation that employees will share their voice as well. And then provide a two-way channel so they can join the conversation.

Creating a cultural disconnect

Writing conversationally doesn’t mean that anything goes. Conventions like punctuation, spelling and grammar remain important, even when using a casual tone of voice. Confusing “you’re” and “your,” for instance, isn’t conversational; it’s amateurish. If your writing is studded with grammatical or spelling mistakes, employees will notice.