Voice and Tone

What we say and how we say it.

It is important as a brand that all our communications are coherent and consistent to both external and internal audiences. 

From time to time, you will need to write something for the college. We’ve developed a corporate style guide to support both experienced writers and those of us who feel less confident in writing for our wide range of audiences.

 

Whether you are writing a formal report or a social media post, this guide will help you produce accurate and consistent content.

It sets out our ‘house style’ for grammar, spelling and punctuation. It can be used by anyone in the College for external and internal communication purposes.

For help using the Communications Style Guide, or to suggest an edit or addition, please contact comms@nclan.ac.uk 

Our voice and tone.

We want to be known as sincere - honest, down to earth, family-orientated, friendly and approachable.

By following some simple guidelines, we can speak with a common voice that identifies who we are and defines the relationship between us and our audiences.

Think about the context of the communication. Our tone may be more formal when we are communicating with someone about their application. It could be more informal if we are replying to a student on social media.

People respond well when we speak directly to them. We should write in the first person, referring to the
college as ‘We’, ‘us’ and ‘our’. For example, ‘We are looking forward to welcoming you to college.’

Our audiences connect with real life success stories, so try to use these wherever possible to bring your writing to life.

Choose inspiring and encouraging words like ‘progress’, ‘opportunity’ and ‘future’.

Consider using a more positive word where there is a choice, like ‘challenge’ instead of ‘problem’.

Principles to consider.

Understand your audience

Before you write any communication, consider the following:

  • Think about who is going to read the content.
  • What does the reader want to know?
  • How will your audience feel when they read your content?
  • What tone should you use to address your reader’s expectations?

Consistency and accuracy is key

  • If there are two correct ways to spell a word, be consistent within your document.
  • Proof-read your material thoroughly and don’t rely on spellcheckers.

Keep it simple

Keep your content simple and straight to the point. Use straightforward language that is accessible for all, but without dumbing down.

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Downloads.

Communications Style Guide
Download