# Voice and Tone Templates

Worksheets and calibration patterns for defining a product voice and adjusting tone by context.

## Table of Contents

- Voice anchor worksheet
- Tone matrix by context
- Voice examples by product type
- Sounds like and does not sound like pairs
- Microcopy personality test

## 1. Voice Anchor Worksheet

Define voice with 3 stable traits and a concrete behavior for each.

Template:

```text
Product name: ___________

Voice trait 1: [adjective]
In practice this means: [concrete behavior]
Example: [sample line]

Voice trait 2: [adjective]
In practice this means: [concrete behavior]
Example: [sample line]

Voice trait 3: [adjective]
In practice this means: [concrete behavior]
Example: [sample line]

We are _______, not _______.
We are _______, not _______.
We are _______, not _______.
```

Worked example for a game management tool:

```text
Product name: Fairguard Campaign Manager

Voice trait 1: Direct
In practice: Tell players what they can do, not what the system does.
Example: "Roll initiative" not "Initiative rolling feature activated"

Voice trait 2: Grounded
In practice: Use the game's own vocabulary, not software vocabulary.
Example: "Your party" not "Your user group"; "Session notes" not "Documentation"

Voice trait 3: Confident but not smug
In practice: Never explain things users already know; trust them.
Example: "New session" not "Click here to create a new session event"

We are direct, not terse.
We are helpful, not condescending.
We are in-world, not software-flavored.
```

## 2. Tone Matrix by Context

Use four axes to calibrate tone:

- Humor
- Formality
- Respectfulness
- Enthusiasm

Standard grid:

| Moment | Humor | Formality | Respectfulness | Enthusiasm |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Onboarding | Warm | Casual | Warm | Enthusiastic |
| Core feature use | None | Casual | Neutral | Flat |
| Settings or configuration | None | Neutral | Neutral | Flat |
| Mild warning | None | Casual | Warm | Flat |
| Critical warning | None | Neutral | Deferential | Flat |
| Error or failure | None | Casual | Warm | Flat |
| Small success | Dry | Casual | Warm | Friendly |
| Milestone success | Warm | Casual | Warm | Enthusiastic |
| Billing or payment | None | Formal | Deferential | Flat |
| Offboarding or deletion | None | Casual | Warm | Flat |
| Empty state | Dry | Casual | Warm | Friendly |
| Permission request | None | Neutral | Warm | Flat |
| Help or documentation links | None | Casual | Neutral | Flat |

## 3. Voice Examples by Product Type

### Consumer app

Voice:

- Warm
- Direct
- Human

Examples:

- Onboarding: `You're in. Let's make this worth your time.`
- Error: `That didn't work. Let's try again.`
- Empty state: `Nothing here yet - add your first [thing] to get started.`
- Success: `[Thing] saved.`

Danger zones:

- Too casual
- Over-enthusiastic punctuation

### Enterprise SaaS

Voice:

- Clear
- Efficient
- Trustworthy

Examples:

- Onboarding: `Your workspace is ready. Invite your team to get started.`
- Error: `We couldn't load your data. Check your connection and try again.`
- Empty state: `No [items] yet. Create your first [item] to start tracking progress.`
- Success: `[Item] created.`

Danger zones:

- Corporate filler like leverage, utilize, optimize
- Casual language that weakens trust in serious contexts

### Developer tool

Voice:

- Precise
- Efficient
- Not wasteful

Examples:

- Onboarding: `Connect your repo to get started.`
- Error: `Build failed. View logs.`
- Empty state: `No deployments yet. Push a commit to trigger your first build.`
- Success: `Deployed to production in 1m 42s.`

Danger zones:

- Over-explaining concepts developers already know
- Forced warmth that feels out of place

### Game or TTRPG tool

Voice:

- In-world when useful
- Direct
- Player-facing

Examples:

- Onboarding: `Your campaign is ready. Add your first session to begin.`
- Error: `We couldn't save your session notes. Try again?`
- Empty state: `No sessions logged yet. Start your first session to begin the chronicle.`
- Success: `Session saved.`

Settings guidance:

- Prefer game terms or plain language over software terms.
- `Combat rules` beats `Combat configuration settings`.

Danger zones:

- UI that sounds like a parody fantasy narrator
- Software-flavored chrome around domain concepts

### Healthcare or wellbeing app

Voice:

- Calm
- Reassuring
- Non-clinical in consumer contexts

Examples:

- Onboarding: `Take a moment to set up your preferences. This helps us personalize your experience.`
- Error: `Something went wrong. Your data is safe - try again or contact support.`
- Empty state: `Nothing logged yet. Add your first entry when you're ready.`

Danger zones:

- Forced cheerfulness in sensitive moments
- Clinical language with consumers
- False urgency

## 4. Sounds Like and Does Not Sound Like Pairs

Pick pairs that fit the product:

| Sounds like | Does not sound like |
| --- | --- |
| A knowledgeable friend | A legal disclaimer |
| A calm expert | A nervous assistant |
| Someone who respects your time | Someone who needs to prove they are helpful |
| Your favorite teacher | A help desk ticket system |
| A confident guide | A liability shield |
| A peer who has done this before | A corporate memo |
| Someone who trusts you to figure it out | Someone afraid you will mess up |
| A direct reply | A FAQ page |

Anti-examples:

- `Please note that in order to complete the action you have selected, you will be required to...`
- `Yay! You did it!`
- `Oops! Something went wrong :(`
- `Kindly ensure that all fields are filled out completely before proceeding.`
- `We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.`

## 5. Microcopy Personality Test

Use this checklist before shipping copy:

1. Would the brand say this out loud?
2. Does it serve the user's goal, not the organization's process?
3. Is there a more specific verb?
4. Could it be shorter without losing meaning?
5. Does the tone match this moment?

If any answer is no, revise the copy.
