Voice and tone

Guidance for writing content and communications in the Grants.gov brand voice

I. Introduction and Definitions

The purpose of this voice and tone guide is to help you write for Grants.gov so that we sound like the same organization everywhere people encounter our content. Consider these definitions to understand the difference between voice and tone:

  • Our voice is our unique personality. It’s grounded in our brand identity, particularly our brand characters. It should be a consistent thread through everything we write and say.

  • Our tone adapts to the situation. For example, we may adjust our tone for the audience or the context in which our audiences need our information.

II. Our Voice

Our brand characters serve as the foundation of our voice (and everything else about Grants.gov, from our visual identity to the product experience). This section details how we bring the four brand characters most relevant to our voice and tone to life in what we write and say:

  • Approachable

  • Trustworthy

  • Straightforward

  • Purposeful

Approachable

We are responsive, warm, and open.

How we achieve this:

  • Our writing positions us as a helpful concierge:

  • We focus on the positive and specify a next step when appropriate.

Trustworthy

We are an indispensable, credible source of knowledge, information, and expertise.

How we achieve this:

  • We are transparent and clear about our role in the federal grantmaking process.

  • We anticipate what our audiences want or need to know and pull out the information that impacts them most.

Straightforward

We prioritize efficient, streamlined interactions.

How we achieve this:

  • We get straight to the point.

  • We write like people talk and use plain language. For example, we use the second-person you, embrace contractions, avoid jargon, and choose the simplest, most precise words.

Purposeful

We constantly seek new opportunities to bring value to our users and those we serve.

How we achieve this:

  • We prioritize what our audiences want and need to know over self-promotion or lengthy background information.

  • We bring clarity to complex topics.

III. Tone

Along with a reminder of how we define tone, we can talk about the contexts for varying the tone, such as by audience and archetype, by channel, by content type, and situation. The following tone matrix provides some considerations for tone for five content purposes. Keep in mind that:

  • Choosing a tone and writing in that tone is not an exact science.

  • Our content doesn’t always fit neatly in these categories, but they provide a container for thinking through tone.

Tone Matrix

Inform
Educate
Facilitate
Support
Promote

Description

Content that provides matter-of-fact details about Grants.gov

Content that helps people understand how to use Grants.gov to publish grant opportunities or find grants to apply for

Content that helps people complete their tasks related to Grants.gov

Content that helps people troubleshoot an issue with Grants.gov or administer their Grants.gov account

Content that shares new information or drives people to content in other content purpose categories

Examples

  • Planned maintenance alert (distributed in various channels)

  • About Grants.gov content

  • Release notes

  • Grants 101 content

  • How-to content

  • Tips and Did you Know content

  • Eligibility details

  • User interface copy (including success messages)

  • Confirmation emails

  • Content for media professionals (e.g., press release)

  • Content for elected officials (e.g., constituent presentation)

  • User interface copy (including error messages)

  • How-to content for people responsible for agency administration and technical implementation (there is likely overlap with Educate content)

  • Tweet promoting a blog post on a how-to topic

  • Information about a new feature in the newsletter or release note summary/overview

  • Email introducing Grants.gov to community organizations

Tone

Attributes

  • Matter-of-fact

  • Precise

  • Transparent

  • Helpful

  • Encouraging

  • Instructive

  • Reassuring

  • Empathetic

  • Anticipatory

  • Constructive

  • Instructive

  • Actionable

  • Value-focused

  • Upbeat

  • Inviting

Considerations

  • Be as clear and concise as possible while maintaining accuracy.

  • Use neutral language to avoid ascribing emotion to the content.

  • Only include historical information that your audiences need to know to understand the information.

  • Use the language your users are most likely to recognize and understand, even if it may be considered jargon to people outside your audience.

  • Use a guiding tone without being patronizing.

  • Write applicant content for the novice archetype.

  • Write in a way that suggests you are attuned to the needs of the audience, e.g., knowing what a reporter needs to write an unbiased, factual story.

  • Anticipate what questions the audience may have and answer them in language that makes sense to them.

  • Be realistic about the effort and time a task may involve, while decomplicating the information.

  • Use the language your users are most likely to recognize and understand, even if it may be considered jargon to people outside your audience.

  • Guide people to the next logical step or steps for their situation; e.g. error messages should tell people how to fix the error.

  • Focus on the benefit of what you’re promoting to the intended audience.

  • Avoid crossing the line between upbeat and cheesy.

  • Keep an eye out for alienating language, e.g., phrases like β€œIt’s simple and fast” could alienate someone who processes information more slowly or uses accessibility tools to do their work.

IV. In Practice

This section will be continually updated to show examples of content that is written in accordance with our voice and tone guidance.

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