The brand voice is how your brand sounds in writing and speech. It’s the verbal equivalent of your visual identity or the outfit you’re wearing.

The same information can be communicated in a hundred different ways. The words you choose, the sentence structure you use, the level of formality you adopt – all of these things communicate something about who you are. Inconsistent tone of voice can be jarring and unpleasant to read. Being formal in one email, but then super casual in a later text message can send mixed messages and potentially disappoint customers looking for either formal or casual. 

Why brand voice matters

In the disability sector, trust is everything. I call it a ‘trust economy’. The way you communicate either builds that trust or erodes it. Communicating well and consistently builds and compounds trust in a way that is hard to achieve elsewhere. eople value familiarity and knowing waht to expect from your brand can be meaningful for people who are navigating a confusing and ever-changing sector. 

A warm, clear, human brand voice signals that you’re approachable and person-centred. A cold, corporate, jargon-heavy tone signals the opposite, regardless of how good your support actually is. There are pros and cons to each type of tone of voice, which is why it’s so important to understand who your audience is and consider who else is listening. Casual and funny can be charming for younger people or participants looking around because they are bored at their current provider. However that tone may not work on older customers looking at palliative care or trauma-informed supports. 

Similarly if you’re setting up a marketing person or a marketing-AI bot it gives them a steer on how to write for the business, and gives you something to grade it against. It’s hard to critique work when you don’t know what good looks like. 

Defining your brand voice

Below are some useful dimensions to define. Think of it like a spectrum out of 10 and remember you can’t strike a perfect 5/5 balance as that neuters both. Bold/gentle for example, should always lean one way or another.

Formal vs Conversational Do you write in sentences like a report, or like a person talking?

Serious vs Warm Is your communication matter-of-fact, or does personality come through?

Expert vs Accessible Do you use sector terminology, or plain language your audience can understand immediately?

Bold vs Gentle Do you make strong claims, or hedge and qualify everything?

Tone of voice is not one size fits all

Your core tone stays consistent. But how it’s expressed adapts to context.

A Facebook post can be warmer and more casual than a tender submission. An email to a participant’s family can be more personal than a media release. The way to think about it is the tone of voice is your brand as a personality, which we’ve gone through in a previous module. How would THAT PERSON communicate something serious, or fun? It’s a brand avatar which I use all the time with brands. 

The voice is the same. The tone adjusts.

What to avoid

• Jargon NDIS, SIL, SDA, LAC are fine internally but alienate families unfamiliar with the system
• Passive voice makes writing feel bureaucratic and distant
• Hedging “We endeavour to provide…” says nothing. “We provide…” does. Compliant with Bill 2 of course!
• Inspiration porn language that positions disabled people as objects of pity or inspiration rather than people with agency

Exercise

Rewrite this sentence in your brand’s tone of voice: “Our organisation is committed to the delivery of high quality, person-centred support services that empower individuals to achieve their goals.”

Make it sound like a real person who actually cares.