Your tone of voice shapes how your system communicates with its users. A consistent tone makes documentation clearer, onboarding smoother, and guidance easier to follow. This tactic helps you define the voice of your system by aligning it with your company brand, the needs of your audience, and your system principles. Use this when setting up your guidance or refining documentation so contributors and users all share the same communication style.
How to
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Gather examples Collect content from your brand guidelines, product copy, and existing documentation. Compare the differences in tone across teams.
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Identify your audience Decide who will use your system guidance: designers, engineers, content specialists, or cross-disciplinary teams. Match tone to their needs.
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Define tone principles Choose 3–5 tone principles (e.g. clear not clever, direct but supportive). Align these with your Crafting System Principles so the way you write reflects the system's core values.
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Write examples Draft short "before and after" snippets showing how to apply your principles. Make these easy to copy into your Creating Guidance Pages.
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Test for clarity Run your draft tone with a small group. Check if it's easy to understand, feels consistent, and avoids jargon. Adjust as needed.
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Document and share Publish tone guidelines in your Guidance Setup so they are accessible and applied across all documentation and updates.