Voice & tone standards

Here's how other content authorities talk about voice & tone:

• According to Grammarly, voice & tone are distinctly different, but point to the same thing – "...your way of expressing yourself."
• MailChimp's style guide says, "Think of it this way: You have the same voice all the time, but your tone changes."
• The Nielsen Norman Group states, "Tone of voice is the way we tell our users how we feel about our message, and it will influence how they'll feel about our message, too."

Defining voice & tone in UX begins with knowing who you are talking to.

When you understand who the user is -- their demographics, needs, pains and experiences -- you can begin to learn how they want you to speak to them.

Voice & tone are not one-size-fits-all. While characteristics like warm, confident and straightforward are a solid foundation, unique user groups come with unique voice & tone requirements. Research methods can help to more accurately define the best ways to speak to specific groups of users.

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