Tone Flashcards
How can you ask a client to describe the tone they want?
Ask them to describe, in five adjectives, the
message they want readers to get about their company.
How can you analyze the tone of a written piece?
Extract all the adjectives and descriptive nouns. Look at them as a group. These words go a long way
toward setting your tone.
Why is it important to talk to people (preferably the CEO) to determine tone rather than read their materials?
It’s really about echoing their lingo. How do they describe their unique selling proposition (USP)? What do they think is their unique value in the marketplace? How is their offering different from their competitors’? I (Carol Tice) don’t want to do a business-writing project without talking to somebody for at least a half-hour. I dislike these projects where they dump a stack of printed material on you, or dash off a couple quick emails, and you’re expected to magically spin that straw into gold. It’s not going to work, because you don’t know enough about their voice.
