Techniques to help find the most effective tone to communicate to employees.

1. Finding the Voice of Your
Organization’s Brand
Strategic Internal Branding | Scottsdale, AZ | April 30, 2016 | Paul Barton, ABC

2. TALK TO YOUR
EMPLOYEES
LIKE YOU WANT THEM
TO TALK TO YOUR
CUSTOMERS

3. WORDS MAKE YOU
THINK
TONE MAKES YOU
FEEL

4. ˜ Parental – we know best
˜ Legal – precise, stilted
˜ Directive – task-oriented, dictatorial
˜ Traditional Business – impersonal, archaic
˜ Informational – objective, standardized, sanitized
˜ Promotional – selling by pseudo excitement
Organizational Tones

5. Underline bold ALL CAPS
Promotional
Tone - If it’s
boring, just
add more
exclamation
marks!!!!!!!!!!

6. Partnership Tone

7. Authentic
First person
Conversational
Warm
Positive
Short, simple words
Contractions
Tells why
Tells WIIFM

8. There are 259 stores that have not yet
provided us group participant information for
the Santa Claws promotion. These forms were
due Nov. 10. We must have them returned
IMMEDIATELY! Failure to do so will result in no
payment. Attached is a list of those that have
complied and those that have not. Thank you
for your cooperation in this matter.
Before

9. Making a List and Checking it Twice: 259 stores
have not yet provided their group participant
info for the Santa Claws promo. They’re
waaaaay overdue folks and we must have the
complete info to pay Santa’s little helpers. So,
no info means no Santa Claws money (not even
a lump of coal). Attached is list of who’s been
naughty and who’s been nice. Questions? Chief
Elf Julie Schmaltz has all the answers. Call her
at her North Pole office, ext. 2826.
After

10. Whose Voice?
˜ The voice of management?
˜ The voice of employees?
˜ The voice of the company?
˜ The Voice of the Brand

11. Voice of the Brand
Who you
are
Who you
want to be

12. Aspirations
Inspirations
Personifications

13. TOOLS
Internal Style Guide
Brand Vocabulary
Graphic Standards
Guiding Principles
Personified Brand
Tone Definition

14. Internal communicator who finds the
Voice of Brand finds unstoppable power within.