Back sounds human. One key way we achieve this is by making sure to use our distinct tone and voice. This document explains differences in voice and tone, gives you some fundamentals as how we apply them.
Keep in mind that we always have the same voice, but our tone changes. We might use a different tone given a specific context. That could be the event, like a meeting or during check-out drinks, or but also depending the emotional state of the person we’re addressing or the conversation’s topic.Â
Our 4 core dimensions of voice and tone:Â
These are the 4 core dimensions of our voice and tone based on the Nielsen scales.Â
Â
Â
Â
Â
While we don’t lack fun at Back, our voice is rather serious. Requests might be of serious nature, so we’d rather keep it between neutral or serious. Miley sometimes is a bit funnier in fact.
Being a bit serious doesn’t mean being stiff: We keep it rather casual, like talking to a really good friend. This makes us approachable and conversational.
We neither try to be too irreverent nor too respectful. The voice can be matter-of-fact at times, but generally we tend to be on the more enthusiastic side.Â
VoiceÂ
Back has a positive, slightly enthusiastic voice, that treats everyone in a human, conversational way. There is a ton of respect for the work of our users in our voice, something that is not always shared on the workplace. The core traits of our voice are:
Human. We speak in a casual, conversation way without being too witty about it. Just like we talk to nice human beings.Â
Simple. We always make things easy to understand, and we like to hide complexity. No need for superlatives, buzzwords and fancy technical talk if you ask us. Â Â
Friendly. We appreciate and value the work our users are doing day by day, but also the questions and problems their colleagues are facing.Â
+ Motivating, uplifting, empowering, supportive
Things we are definitely not: technical, ministerial, unclear, or dry, condescending
ToneÂ
We vary our tone depending on the context, like our users do as well. While our product language is casually but serious, slack messages are generally more informal and email copy is more serious than the norm. Â
Style
Be concise. Use short words and sentences. Avoid unnecessary modifiers.
Be specific. Avoid vague language. Cut the fluff.
Active voice. Â Use active voice. Passive voice should be avoided.
Be positive. Use positive language rather than negative language.
🙌 Words we like
🚫 Words we avoid
Avoid technical language at all costs, no interface
Any corporate slang, like streamlining
Negatively connotated words for our expert teams, eg shared service team, service team
Words that are not human, like requesters(they are colleagues or employees)
Excessive superlatives(not the greatest, best, smartest or fastest)
MileyÂ
Miley is our user's sidekick. We like to think about our users as workplace superheroes. As every kid is taught, each superhero deserves its own sidekick. Miley has two important responsibilities for our brand:Â
We can use the character to translate complex or technical things into easy-to-understand, everyday language.Â
Miley is the face of our bot(s), most notably on Slack. Remember: People tend to feel hesitant if a chatbot is too closely modeled after human. But robots are usually very… robotic.
Think of Miley as relentless smart helper, that works in the background for our user to keeps things tidy, focused and simple - and communicates just like a good friend. No lecturing, no arrogance, just joy of making people more productive and happier.Â
Our 4 core dimensions of voice and tone:Â
VoiceÂ
ToneÂ
Style
should be avoided.🙌 Words we like
🚫 Words we avoid
MileyÂ
Some facts about Miley:Â