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Step 11: Define Tone of Voice

Purpose

Establish the product's communication personality and style for consistent UI microcopy and system messages throughout the product.

Context for Agent

Now that you understand the product, users, positioning, and competitive landscape, you can suggest an appropriate Tone of Voice that aligns with the brand and resonates with target users.

Important: Tone of Voice is for UI microcopy (buttons, labels, errors, system messages), NOT strategic content (headlines, feature descriptions, value propositions).

Key Elements

What is Tone of Voice?

Tone of Voice defines:

Brand personality: Who are we as a company?
Communication style: How do we speak to users?
Emotional tone: What feeling do we create?
Voice attributes: Friendly, professional, quirky, authoritative, empathetic, technical, casual, formal, playful, serious, etc.

Tone of Voice vs Strategic Content

Tone of Voice applies to:

✅ Form field labels ("Email" vs "Email address" vs "Your email")
✅ Button text ("Submit" vs "Continue" vs "Let's go")
✅ Error messages ("Invalid email" vs "Hmm, that doesn't look like an email")
✅ System messages ("Loading..." vs "Hang tight..." vs "Processing your request")
✅ Empty states ("No items" vs "Nothing here yet" vs "Your list is empty")
✅ Tooltips and instructions

Strategic Content uses:

❌ Content Creation Workshop (purpose-driven, context-specific)
❌ Headlines, hero sections, feature descriptions
❌ Value propositions, testimonials, case studies

Instructions

1. Analyze Product Context

Review what you've learned:

Vision & positioning
Target users and their characteristics
Business model and customers
Competitive landscape
Product category and context

2. Suggest Tone of Voice Attributes

Based on the product context, suggest 3-5 tone attributes:

Present in this format:

Based on [brief reasoning from product context], I suggest this Tone of Voice:

Tone Attributes:
1. [Attribute 1]: [Brief explanation why]
2. [Attribute 2]: [Brief explanation why]
3. [Attribute 3]: [Brief explanation why]
4. [Attribute 4]: [Brief explanation why]

Does this feel aligned with your brand vision?

Example attributes:

Friendly & approachable (for consumer products)
Professional & authoritative (for B2B/enterprise)
Empathetic & supportive (for healthcare, education)
Playful & quirky (for creative/youth products)
Technical & precise (for developer tools)
Casual & conversational (for social apps)
Warm & personal (for services)

3. Provide Examples

Show the tone in action with side-by-side comparisons. See: substeps/11-output-template.md for the example format.

4. Refine Based on Feedback

Ask:

"Does this tone feel right for your brand?"
"Should we adjust any attributes? (more/less formal, friendly, technical, etc.)"
"Are the examples aligned with how you want to communicate?"

Iterate until confirmed.

5. Document Final Tone of Voice

Once confirmed, document:

Tone attributes (3-5 clear characteristics)
Example microcopy showing tone in action
Do's and Don'ts (brief guidelines)

Questions to Ask

If User Needs Guidance:

"Let me ask a few questions to help define the tone:"

Relationship: "How do you want users to feel about your brand? Like a trusted advisor? A helpful friend? An expert authority? A fun companion?"
Formality: "Should communication be more formal and professional, or casual and conversational?"
Personality: "If your product were a person, how would they speak? (serious, playful, quirky, straightforward, warm, technical)"
User Context: "Are users typically stressed/frustrated when using your product, or excited/curious? How should tone respond to their state?"
Differentiation: "How do competitors communicate? Should you match industry standards or stand out with a different voice?"

Validation

Before proceeding:

Tone attributes are clearly defined (3-5 specific characteristics)
Attributes align with target users and positioning
Examples demonstrate the tone clearly
User confirms this feels right for their brand
Tone is documented for reference

Output Format

See: substeps/11-output-template.md for the complete Product Brief template.

Next Step

→ Proceed to Step 12: Synthesize and Create Brief

State Update

Update frontmatter of output file:

stepsCompleted:
  [
    'step-01-init.md',
    'step-02-vision.md',
    'step-03-positioning.md',
    'step-04-create-vtc.md',
    'step-05-business-model.md',
    'step-06-business-customers.md',
    'step-07-target-users.md',
    'step-08-success-criteria.md',
    'step-09-competitive-landscape.md',
    'step-10-constraints.md',
    'step-11-tone-of-voice.md',
  ]

Example

See: substeps/11-tone-of-voice-example.md

This shows a complete Tone of Voice definition for a B2B SaaS onboarding tool, demonstrating how to define attributes based on user context (stressed HR managers) and provide clear before/after examples.

⚠️ ALPHA: This is a new addition to the Product Brief workflow. Feedback welcome on placement, questions, and output format.

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