How to establish a tone of voice for your school & why it's important.
Tone of Voice! A crucial yet sometimes overlooked element when establishing brand guidelines and thus strategy. Perhaps the most common example of TOV can be seen in text messages. For instance, if one of my friends texts me asking how I am, replying ‘Good thanks, you?’ is quite clearly me being friendly and engaging. However (and to clarify I’m never this sassy) if I simply reply ‘Good.’, my friends will think I’m either annoyed or being a drama queen! Clearly the mood or emotion you convey in messages is crucial when it comes to how you’re perceived and the sort of messaging / energy you want to put out into the world.
This blog post will establish why TOV is so important for your school to use, and we’ll take a brief look at some good practices when it comes to establishing your TOV.
Why establish a TOV?
There are many reasons why it's good for a school to use a certain tone of voice when it talks to people. Some of these advantages are:
Creating a consistent and memorable brand identity:
A school can create a unique and memorable brand identity that sets it apart from other schools by using a consistent tone of voice. This can help the school build a strong, positive reputation with its different groups of people and make it easier to remember and recognise.
Building trust and credibility:
Using a strong and consistent tone of voice can help students, parents, and other stakeholders trust and believe you. For example, if a school always uses a friendly and approachable tone in its communications, it can help create a sense of openness and transparency and make the school more approachable and relatable.
Improving communication and getting people interested:
A school's communications can be more interesting and effective if they use the right tone of voice. By using language and tone that are right for the different groups the school wants to reach and talk to, it can do so more effectively. This can help people talk and understand each other better and build stronger relationships with students, parents, and other important people.
Setting up a consistent way to talk:
A school can set up a consistent way to talk to all of its different audiences by making rules about tone of voice. This can help make sure that all of the school's communications are clear, brief, and easy to understand, and that they reflect the school's core values and mission. This can also make it easier for teachers, staff, and other people in the school community to communicate in a way that follows the rules.
How do you establish a TOV?
When a school makes rules about tone of voice, there are a few key things that should be included.
A description of the schools mission and core values, which should be the basis for its tone of voice
A list of the different people the school wants to talk to, as well as an understanding of their needs, preferences, and ways of acting
A set of rules for the language, tone, and style that should be used in different kinds of communications, like website content, newsletters, and social media posts
Some examples of how to use tone of voice in different situations, such as when talking to students, parents, or donors
A way to regularly review and update the tone of voice guidelines to make sure they are still useful and up to date
Overall, the tone of voice guidelines should be clear, brief, and easy to understand so that they can be used consistently in all of the school's communications.
Figuring out your mission and core values
A school can start by looking at its history, culture, and the needs of the people in its area to figure out what its core values and mission are. It can also involve important people, like teachers, staff, students, and parents, in figuring out these values and mission.
This can be done through surveys, focus groups, and other types of research. Once the school knows what its core values and mission are, it can use this information to make a clear and concise statement about who it is and what it wants to do. The school can then use this statement as the basis for all of its communications and decisions.
Getting to know the people
By thinking about the different groups of people who are interested in or connected to the school, a school can figure out who it wants to talk to. This could include students, parents, teachers, staff, alumni, possible donors, and people from the local community. The school can then do research on these different groups to find out more about their needs, preferences, and ways of acting, and then use this information to come up with good ways to communicate with them. For example, the school could use surveys or focus groups to find out what students and parents think, or it could do market research to find out what potential donors want. By knowing what its different groups of people want and need, the school can make sure that its communications reach and engage these groups.
Establishing Guidelines
When making rules for the language, tone, and style that should be used in a school's communications, it's important to think about the school's core values and mission, as well as the needs and preferences of its different audiences. For example, the rules might say that when talking to students, the school should use a friendly and open tone, but when talking to parents or donors, it should use a more formal and professional tone. The rules could also say what kind of language and writing style should be used for different kinds of communication, like using short, simple sentences in social media posts and more complex language in academic papers or reports.
Reviewing TOV guidelines
A good way to review and change tone of voice guidelines might be to look at how well they are being followed by evaluating the school's communications on a regular basis. This can be done by getting feedback from students, parents, teachers, and other important people, and then using that feedback to figure out where the rules might need to be changed or made better. It can also mean keeping up with changes in the school's mission, values, and audience preferences and using that information to update the guidelines as needed. Also, the school might want to include teachers, staff, and students in the process of reviewing and updating the rules to make sure they reflect the needs and priorities of the school community. Overall, the goal of the review process should be to make sure that the guidelines are effective and relevant, and that they are used the same way in all of the school's communications.
