TONE OF VOICE – its meaning, and some ideas
Everyone can IDENTIFY a robin, but can they reproduce its bird call – i.e. its tone of voice?
Maybe you are you trying to decide your business or organisation’s tone of voice? How to articulate it? How to get it reproduced across staff and colleagues? Or how to tweak your tone into something more akin to you and your brand – something more appropriate?
Fuel for your thoughts now follows .. .
I have carefully distilled 150+ different tones of voice (that I researched from across the web) into what I believe are 12 main types .. . and here they are, below.
12 Types of tone of voice
What I suggest are the 12 main types of tone are listed below, with supporting examples and slight variations for each one. It should help stimulate, guide and develop your thoughts when you look at your tone of voice.
Need help with your tone?
- Download my chart to show you how these 12 tones are related, in my special diagram – download it here.
- I have developed a tone of voice function – this explains how your tone is determined, and what you can do to influence it.
Contact me here to talk through these ideas, and what you want from your tone of voice.
Sincere
thoughtful, earnest, genuine, downbeat
Modest
gentle, simple, apologetic, timid, nervous
Empathetic
thoughtful, supportive, interested, tuned in, complex
You might be interested to VIEW my tone of voice function here – to help you understand what factors determine your tone of voice, and what you can do to influence it.
Open
accessible, clear, definite, explicit, praising, vague
Optimistic
happy, positive, confident, idealistic, boastful
Encouraging
enthusiastic, warm, passionate, persuasive, extreme
Amusing
playful, engaging, lively, comic, illogical
Direct
f assertive, factual, explicit, unfeeling, outspoken
Disapproving
dissatisfied, fed up, complaining, pessimistic
Annoyed
f upset, aggressive, argumentative, offensive
Negative
pessimistic, gloomy, critical, cold
Serious
formal, analytical, flat, heavy, dull