Tone of Voice Guide.pdf

Tone of Voice Guide
Published 12/12/2024
Tone of voice is an important part of communicating eﬀectively. It isn’t about what is said, but how it is said. Tone of voice makes up the character – or personality – of the
agency. This then goes on to set up the relationship between IP Australia and our key target audiences.
IP Australia needs an agreed tone of voice as part of our agency’s brand. This tone of voice wil  then go on to guide al  communication, producing a consistent approach to
our customers and stakeholders.
In addition to tone of voice, staﬀ utilise a glossary of terms to use instead of technical jargon and require guidance on how formal tone should sound in diﬀerent situations
and contexts.
What tone of voice means:
The Australian Government Style Manual deﬁnes tone as ‘the way you express ideas. It includes the words you use, the way you put them together and their level of
formality.’
The Style Manual identiﬁes voice as ‘a persona that people understand when they engage with the content.’
When tone of voice is referred to, it speciﬁes in detail the way language is structured to create our corporate identity. It is the character of our agency coming through in our
words, along with other aspects of the content such as font, images and design.
Why tone of voice is important:
While clear messaging and good writing (including spelling, grammar and Plain English) are crucial for understanding dialogue, the tone of voice sets the relationship the
agency has with our readers. This goes on to create a particular impression on everyone who reads or hears about IP Australia.
Building on this, consider the fol owing examples:

Think about the impact of formal, often jargon-heavy text that large organisations such as telecommunications and ﬁnance corporations tend to use.  This type of
correspondence focuses on being thorough and correct and often does not include any contractions - instead opting to write all terms out in full.  Personal pronouns such as
‘you’ and ‘us’ are not often used, preferring deﬁnitions of parties to the agreement instead. This type of communication style often uses passive language to avoid putting
people into the text at al , and the text is heavy with more formal expressions such as ‘ascertain’ instead of ‘ﬁnd out’; and ‘demonstrate’ instead of ‘show’. The overall
impression from this kind of content is that the organisation is serious, aloof, authoritarian and backed with legal structure and formality. Many of the readers of this type of
content wil  feel intimidated and discouraged about asking questions or raising issues. It might be necessary to use such a tone for legal reasons, but the overal  eﬀect is to
‘keeps us in our place’ and maintain a formal boundary.

Since our agency is customer focussed, it's important for our audiences to feel diﬀerently. This helps to ensure our customers feel empowered and welcome, strengthening
our professional working relationships.
On the other hand - frivolity, quirky humour, irreverence and over-familiarity is not appropriate. This kind of content can be found in meal delivery services, or producers of
soft drinks. Organisations like these set out to be appealing to their audience and tend to use conversational, chatty text, where writing occurs informal y: as though
conversations are happening between a close acquaintance - often without much focus on grammar. This particular style of content wil often use a riot of colour, and bold
design elements.
At IP Australia, our agency requires a tone of voice that reﬂects a persona that ﬁts happily somewhere in between the above two examples.
A Personality for IP Australia

To develop a personality to guide agency content, we at IP Australia looked to existing documents and work done internal y to determine how we want our agency to be
seen, along with internal consultation through workshops.
The Agency’s Brand Guidelines
The agency’s Brand Guidelines provide personality traits for the agency, which are consistent with our mission statement.
Speciﬁcally:
Personality traits
What we mean
Thinking
We are thoughtful and inquisitive
Approachable
We are friendly and accessible
Open-minded
We are tolerant and curious
Decisive
We are process-oriented and determined
Further, the brand guidelines suggest modifying tone of voice for diﬀerent kinds of content, as fol ows:

Content
Tone
What we’re not
Knowledgeable and accurate statements
Authoritative
Aloof, jargonistic
Simple and reassuring statements
Friendly, conversational
Colloquial, informal
Optimistic and hopeful statements
Positive, active
Insincere, passive
Decisive and bold statements
Conﬁdent
Arrogant, confusing
Internal consultation
In the past year internal consultations were held to determine what characteristics our staﬀ felt were most important for the agency.
Results revealed that the top rating concepts were:
•  Professional, world class, knowledgeable.
•  Reliable, eﬀective, consistent, high quality, robust, trustworthy, valid, accurate, fair.
•  Eﬃcient, value for money.
•  Simple, clear, fair, useful, easy to use, seamless, business friendly.
•  Empathic, user-friendly, courteous, convenient, responsive, genuine, approachable, contactable.
These conceptualisations give us a starting point for developing principles for the agency’s tone of voice.

Emerging themes include expertise, reliability, conﬁdence and trustworthiness, professionalism and value for money, while still being accessible and human.
Key Personality Principles
Given the need for simplicity, these characteristics were grouped to three or fewer adjectives so that staﬀ can readily understand the agency’s personality.
This developed to leave the broader concepts of our agency as:
1.  Authoritative/learned/expert.

2.  Reliable/trustworthy/consistent.
3.  Friendly/helpful/approachable.
To choose the best word that describes the agency we have consulted the Macquarie Dictionary for deﬁnitions, as wel  as synonyms from Thesaurus.com.
Authoritative/learned/expert
Authoritative: having due authority, oﬃcial, authorised, positive; peremptory; dictatorial, domineering.
While having due authority is what we want customers to perceive, the agency is not aiming to be seen as dictatorial or domineering, so another similar word is needed.
Thinking, or thoughtful is another suggestion from the Brand Guide.
Thinking means reasoning, thoughtful; reﬂective – not quite the nuance the agency needs, given that thoughtful means reﬂective, meditative and occupied with thoughts.
Reasoning is not quite right either, since anyone could do it - not just an expert.
Learned: well-informed, accomplished, educated, scholarly, wel -read, esoteric, sound, solemn.
Also, connotations of lawyers, as in 'a learned colleague'.
Expert:  knowledgeable, proﬁcient, adept, experienced, skilful, trained, masterful.
Also: a specialist.
Other synonyms:
Knowledgeable:  possessing knowledge or understanding; intelligent.
Proﬁcient: well-advanced or expert in a subject; skil ed.
Synonyms: accomplished, adept, experienced, qualiﬁed, competent, capable.
Of these options, knowledgeable seems the best descriptor.
Reliable/trustworthy/consistent
Reliable is potential y also a good ﬁt but as it has so many meanings there is room for misunderstanding.
Among the meanings: decent, dependable, honest, respectable, sincere, solid, careful, devoted, sound, righteous and responsible.
Trustworthy is a better ﬁt: honest, accurate, authoritative, convincing, dependable, ethical, credible, steadfast, straight.
Consistent: unvarying, dependable, uniform, rational, logical, persistent, steady, true
Of these three, trustworthy seems to convey the concept best.

Friendly/helpful/approachable
Friendly: cordial, open, receptive, intimate, companionable, amiable, amicable, helpful, beneﬁcial, kind, sociable, welcoming
Helpful: cooperative, supportive, sympathetic, accommodating, usable, accessible, benevolent.
Approachable: Accessible, reachable, attainable and friendly.
There is clearly a great deal of overlap between these terms, but the closest to our suggested terms would be helpful.
We therefore recommend using the Three Core Principles of the agency’s personality as:
Knowledgeable
We are the acknowledged experts in Australia and well respected around the world.
Trustworthy
You can rely on our integrity, professionalism and top-quality services.
Helpful
We are customer focussed, friendly and here to help.

Applying the three principles to everyday communications
Tone of voice is al  about the attitude behind what people are saying. Our tone of voice does not change, but the way we speak or write does. If we are angry, we may be
curt; if we are happy, our voice may exude joy. IP Australia's tone of voice should be friendly, professional, and sincere to keep people engaged. Improving our tone can be as
simple as smiling, taking a deep breath, and approaching a discussion or writing with a genuine desire to be knowledgeable, trustworthy, and helpful.
Key methods to apply when using tone of voice in everyday communication include:
1.  Use positive language. That means eliminating words and phrases like ''We can't,'' and ''You need to'' from your vocabulary and focusing on phrases like ' I can'  and
''We wil .''
2.  Remember you are talking to another human being. Conversation should not be robotic, even if there is a script to fol ow. Having sincerity and empathy mean that
we should strive to speak to others in the way we'd would like to be spoken to.
3.  Keep it casual and friendly but assess each situation separately. People may view a casual tone as insulting but being helpful is always welcome.
Applying the Three Core Principles in your communication:
Take a look at the below example responses appropriate to give to a customer who is experiencing diﬃculties accessing information on our website:

Knowledgeable
‘We apologise, we are currently experiencing a problem and our team are working on addressing the outage. We expect to have this resolved shortly but can we assist you
in answering a few of your questions.’
Trustworthy
‘We’re sorry you are experiencing a problem. How can we assist you to ﬁnd the information you need?’
Helpful
‘Oops! We’re sorry, but we are experiencing a problem on our end. Let’s discuss how we can get you the information need.’
The examples provided above are a guide to assist in applying the three principles. The idea is not to treat the principles in isolation but can be used as a guide to adjust
your communication style to suit the audience and the situation. The aim is to empathise with your audience and adjust your style and tone accordingly.
The elements in Tone of Voice
According to the Australian Government Style Guide, tone is created by four elements:
•  Choice of words – including simple or complex, jargon, inclusivity, use of contractions.
•  Viewpoint – The pronouns used, such as writing in the second person (using the pronoun ‘you’) which is active, direct and personal. It can be more engaging for
people reading and using government content.
•  Grammar – long or short sentences are key here.
•  Level of formality – formal, standard or informal.
Reading level
It is worth noting that while the formality of content may vary depending on the audience, the reading level should change as little as possible. Both the Australian
Government Style Manual and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines require a lower secondary education reading level, after removal of proper names and titles. This is
equivalent to year 7, or between 12 and 14 years old. This considers customers which might include people with little formal education, disabilities or those with English as
their second language.
Level of formality is a key component in conveying tone of voice
A formal tone creates a distance between the content’s persona and the content’s reader. Language tends to be stiﬀ, polite with an emphasis on correctness. Formal tone is
often used in ceremonies, and as a way of showing respect for someone in authority. Legal writing, policies, reports and ministerial letters often adopt a formal tone. You
can also use it in emails and letters when you have not yet met the person you are writing to.

An informal tone suggests a relationship that is more casual and intimate, more every day. It is the way we speak to our family and friends. This is often the tone used in
social media and blogs, as well as some types of internal communication. Language often becomes more informal as you become more familiar with the person you're
writing to.
A standard tone sits between these two. The Australian Government Style Manual advises that standard tone is appropriate for most government content. It creates little
distance, but not too much familiarity, into the relationship with readers. The Australian Government Style Manual tel  us that most people ﬁnd standard tone easiest to
understand. In standard tone, you can use contractions (such as you’re, don’t and you’l ) and personal pronouns.
While IP Australia communicates with various audiences the formality and complexity of the language, we use will vary depending on who we are communicating with and
through which channel.
For most audiences, a standard tone wil  be appropriate. There wil  be times when a formal tone is required and times when an informal tone would be more eﬀective. The
level of formality may also vary depending on the communication channel you are using.
Achieving consistency in tone of voice
Having decided on a persona for the agency, any staﬀ who produce content wil  need to be informed of the persona and how to convey it.
There is a strong link between familiarity and trust. Something familiar is easier for the brain to process, making us more receptive to communication. This is why creating a
speciﬁc tone of voice is crucial.
If we use language consistently, our writing wil  speak directly to our audiences and enhance our relationships. The same tone of voice should be used by al  staﬀ, and some
consistency is needed across al  communication channels.
Included in this guide are three resources which wil  help a consistency of language used across our communication channels. These resources are:
•  A set of language boards to determine word choice. These boards list some terms and jargon commonly used across IP Australia. These terms are paired with a
simpler alternative word or phrase which is more easily understood by someone outside our organisation.
•  A sliding scale of formality and complexity of language dependant on the intended audience (and communication channel). For example: a social media post wil
generally use language that is more conversational and will deal with simple concepts. In contrast, a webpage with information for patent attorneys wil  use more
formal language and deal with more complex legal concepts.
•  A one-page guide for al  staﬀ on how to write in IP Australia’s tone of voice. The guide wil  need to explain IP Australia's persona, along with guidance on how to
best achieve it. The guide needs to be brief and simple and should demonstrate the agency’s tone of voice itself.

Word Choice

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Word choice is important when communicating with our customers, particularly when they are individuals with little knowledge of intellectual property.
We need to avoid using words, phrases and jargon that may not be understood by customers - even if they are commonly used internally.
Below are some language boards which list some words and phrases commonly used across IP Australia, paired with simpler alternatives.
Speaking in the second person:
When we refer to IP Australia as an agency, use pronouns to make the language more familiar and approachable. To reinforce this familiarity, also use pronouns when
speaking to our customers.
Example:
Instead of: ‘A report was released by IP Australia today. It wil  beneﬁt our customers and other stakeholders.’
Say: ‘We released a report today. It wil  beneﬁt you.’
If you do need to use IP Australia’s oﬃcial title, only use ‘IP Australia’. Do not refer to the agency as ‘IPA’, or the ‘Patent (or other IP right) Oﬃce’.
Example:
Instead of: ‘You only need to pay a fee if the letter comes from IPA.’
Say ‘You only need to pay a fee if the letter comes from IP Australia.’
See below for a more complete list.
Instead of
Say
IP Australia
Pronouns such as ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our agency’ unless it is
unavoidable to use our ful  name ‘IP Australia’.
IPA
‘We’, ‘us’ or ‘our’, or use our oﬃcial name ‘IP Australia’.
Commissioner of Patents
‘We’, ‘us’ or ‘our’, or use our oﬃcial name ‘IP Australia’.

Patents/Trademarks/Designs/Plant Breeder’s
‘We’, ‘us’ or ‘our’, or use our oﬃcial name ‘IP Australia’.
Rights Oﬃce
Registrar of Trademarks/Designs/Plant
‘We’, ‘us’ or ‘our’, or use our oﬃcial name ‘IP Australia’.
Breeder’s Rights

Referring to our agency’s systems:
Our customers wil general y not be familiar with the names we give to our systems, particularly when they ﬁrst interact with IP Australia. We should therefore refer to the
action our customer wil be performing, rather than the name of the system they will use.
Example:
Instead of: ‘Use ATMOSS to see if there are any similar trade marks.’
Say: ‘Search for trade marks to see if there are any similar to yours.’
Instead of: ‘Apply for a patent via Online Services.’
Say: ‘Log in to apply for a patent.’
Instead of
Say
ADDS
Search for a design/s
OR
Australian design search
ATMOSS
Search for a trade mark/s
OR
Australian trademark search
AUSPAT
Search for a patent/s
OR
Australian patent search

Australian Oﬃcial Journal of Designs
Search for a design/s
OR
Australian design search
Australian Oﬃcial Journal of Trade marks
Search for a trade mark/s
OR
Australian trade mark search
Online Services
‘Log in’
PBR database
Search for a plant breeder’s right/s
OR
Australian plant breeder’s rights search
Register of Trade Marks
Search for a trade mark/s
OR
Australian trade mark search

Using simpler terms
The table below lists some other terms common to IP Australia and the world of intel ectual property, which may be unfamiliar or confusing to our customers. Each term is
paired with a simpler alternative.
Instead of:
Use:
Agent
‘attorney’ or ‘legal representative/representation’
Approved form
includes all the required details
Assignment
Change of ownership

Assisted ﬁling service
‘TM Headstart’ or ‘pre-application service’
Basic application/convention application
Overseas application
Complete application
Patent application/standard patent application
Complete speciﬁcation
Speciﬁcation
Continuation/maintenance fee
Renewal fee
Child
An application based on a previous application
Click here for more information
Learn more about how to use accessible hyperlinks
Embodiment
An example of your invention
File an application
Apply for a patent/trade mark/design
Filing date/priority date/date of patent/ﬁled
When you/the date you applied for a…
your application
OR
When you/the date you submitted your application
IP Right
IP right
Letter of demand
Also use ‘cease and desist’
Multiple design application
Apply for more than one design in a single application.

National phase
Apply in Australia based on an overseas application
Open to public inspection
‘Published’ or ‘publish details of your application’
Oppose
Can also use ‘dispute’
Prior art
‘a previous/existing invention’ or something already ‘in the public domain’
Patentee
‘Owner of the patent’ or ‘patent owner’
Parent/priority document
Previous/original application
Registrable/registerable (or patentable)
Eligible for patent/trade mark/design protection
Renewal date/renewal due date
When your renewal fee is due
Representation (designs)
A drawing or photo of your design
OR
Representing your design with drawings or photos
Seal/sealing (patent)
Grant/granted
SME (for subject-matter expert)
Outside IP Australia, ‘SME’ is the general y accepted abbreviation for ‘smal -to-medium
enterprises'. When referring to subject-matter experts, spel it out rather than using the
abbreviation to avoid confusion.
Trade mark
trade mark

World Intellectual Property Organisation
World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO). While we should use the British spelling
of organisation/organise in general writing, when you are referring to WIPO, use the
agency’s oﬃcial title, with the American spelling of ‘Organization’

Choosing the right level of formality for our key audiences

IP Australia has four key transactional groups and two key non-transactional groups that are recognised as our customer personas. IP Australia staﬀ is the seventh persona.
Al  these groups have diﬀerent aims and needs, so it is important that we treat them separately and tailor our messaging to suit.
Transactional personas:
•  Novice consumer.
•  Experienced consumer.
•  Novice facilitator.
•  Experienced facilitator.
Non-transactional personas:
•  Inﬂuencer/partner
•  Collaborator
•  IP Australia staﬀ
Use the below table to determine which level of formality to use in your situation.
Standardising an approach for each audience
The below table lists:
1.  Each persona.
2.  Person's needs.

3.  The channel(s) to use to communicate with them (you may need to use more than one channel to reach your intended audience).
4.  The level of formality of language you should use.
Group
Proﬁle
Needs
Channel
Level of
formality
Novice consumer
•  Business
Education on:
Website (understanding
Standard
owners
IP and IP rights sections)
•  IP processes.
•  Researchers/i
•
nnovators
  Where IP ﬁts in the bigger picture,
Social media (Facebook
Informal
e.g. business.gov.au, domain
and Twitter)
•  Self-ﬁlers
names.
•  What services IP Australia oﬀers
Webinars
Informal
•  Explaining technical terms
Experienced
•  IP rights
•  Tips for faster application process.
Website (IP rights
Standard
consumer
holders
sections)
•  Support for commercialising and
•  Business
international expansion.
owners
Social media (Facebook
Informal
•  Explanation of technical terms.
and Twitter)
•  Researchers/i
nnovators
Webinars
Informal
Novice facilitator
•  Junior trade
•  Attorney-speciﬁc content.
Website (examination,
Formal
mark and
policy, international IP
•
patent
  Transparency of the examination
and oppositions
process.
attorneys
sections)

•  IP attorney
•  Regulatory and policy updates.
Social media (LinkedIn
Standard
support staﬀ
and Twitter)
•  International IP col aboration.
•  QPs for PBR
•  Oppositions ﬁndings.
Experienced
•  Senior trade
•  Updates on examination times.
Website (examination,
Formal
facilitator
mark and
policy, international IP
•
patent
  Regulatory and policy updates.
and oppositions
attorneys
•  International IP col aboration.
sections)
•  IP attorney
•  Oppositions ﬁndings.
support staﬀ
Consultation
Standard
groups/round tables
•  QPs for PBR
Social media (LinkedIn
Standard
and Twitter)
Inﬂuencer/partner
•  International
•  Information relevant to the
Personal contact (email,
Standard
IP
individual audiences (for
phone and face-to-face)
or
organisations
example: the way the Australian IP
informal
system works, or the importance of
•  Other
IP).
government
Conferences
Informal
departments
/agencies
Social media (Facebook,
Informal
•  University
Twitter, LinkedIn)
or
research/IP
standard
bodies
•  Policy bodies

Collaborator
•  Tech and
Understanding of:
Personal contact (email,
Standard
other
phone and face-to-face)
or
•
contractors
  The processes at IP Australia.
informal
who work
•  Integration or migration of data on
with IP
other systems.
Australia to
develop
products
IP Australia staﬀ
•  Canberra and
•  Information relevant to their work
Intranet, newsletters,
Standard
Melbourne
and workplace.
emails
or
oﬃce staﬀ
informal
•  Updates on projects and initiatives.
•  Out Posted
Workers

Top 10 tips for IP Australia’s Communication Style
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Al  content produced by our agency is written from the perspective of the agency’s personality, which is:
Knowledgeable
We are the acknowledged experts in Australia and well respected around the world.
Trustworthy
You can rely on our integrity, professionalism and top-quality services.
Helpful
We are customer focussed, human and here to help.

1.  Use personal pronouns.
Instead of saying ‘IP Australia’, say ‘us’ or ‘we’. Refer to our customers as ‘you’. This helps to establish a friendly, familiar and approachable relationship with our
customers.
Instead of: ‘IP Australia values the input of its customers.’
Say: ‘We value your input.’
2.  Use simple words.
While many of us were taught at school that using big words is better than simple ones, this isn’t helpful for understanding and is quite an old-fashioned approach.
We are not trying to be superior to our customers - we are trying to work with them. It is important to always reject terms that hide meaning.
Example:
Instead of: ‘You can ﬁle your speciﬁcation utilising Online Services.’
Say: ‘You can apply online here.’
3.  Use short sentences.
Break it up. It’s far easier to write short sentences as wel  as better for understanding. For lists, try using bul et points to help get your message across succinctly.
Example:
Instead of: ‘The invention claimed in a standard patent must be new, involve an inventive step and be able to be made or used in an industry.’
Say: ‘The invention claimed in a standard patent must be:
-  new
-  involve an inventive step
-  be able to be made or used in an industry.’
4.  Reject the use of jargon and acronyms.
These can be handy when your audience knows what they mean and can save time. But if your audience is not familiar with the acronyms you use, they can be a
serious obstacle to communication. If you have to use a jargon term, deﬁne it straight afterwards to reduce confusion. Acronyms are also convenient at times but be
aware that too many in a paragraph wil  put people oﬀ, without even reading it.
Example:
Instead of: ‘SMEs often produce patentable subject matter.’
Say: ‘Smal  businesses often invent things that can be protected by a patent.’

5.  Be active. Passive sentences, where all references to people are missing, sound very formal. Sentences without people in them are more diﬃcult to write and more
diﬃcult to understand. Make a habit of saying who is going to do what.
Example:

Instead of: ‘Once the application is complete, processes will be followed.’
Say: ‘Once you’ve completed the application, we will begin the process.’
6.  Be customer focused – wherever you can, take the customer’s point of view.
Example:
Instead of: ‘Businesses with registered designs are less likely to have people copy them.’
Say: ‘If you register your design, there’s less chance someone wil  copy you.’
7.  Be friendly and helpful.
Even though we are a government agency, we work with our customers, and we want them to feel that they are part of the process and that we are supporting
them through it.
8.  Get to the point fast.
Start with the key message. Put the most important thing in the most noticeable spot which wil  be read ﬁrst. Then, make it obvious what the next steps are or what
choices are available.
9.  Talk like a person.
Choose conversational language unless a formal style is required. Use friendly, short, everyday words, and sentence-style capitalisation. In some circumstances, you
can use contractions.
Example: ‘Don’t hesitate to contact us if you need help.’
10. Use enthusiasm.
Whilst this isn't advisable in every situation, it is perfectly okay to put some energy into your text. We don’t want to be seen as cool, aloof and boring. Even a little
humour is okay in some circumstances where formality is low, such as some social media posts.