Voice vs Tone

As children, we learned to adapt our voice and tone to our audience.

So, we didn’t talk to grandma the way we might have talked to Little Jojo. 

This lesson translates to marketing. 

Your tone and language evolves to match your audience.

So, what’s the difference between voice and tone?

Voice is a core tenet of your brand identity. Tone is contextual. 

As DocuWare CMO, Kevin Potts puts it, “voice is to climate as tone is to weather.” 

In other words, voice is who you are; tone is what you do. 

Examples of brand voice:

• Helpful

• Bold

• Informed

• Friendly

Examples of brand tone:

• Conversational

• Confident

• Proven

• Refined

• Considerate

• Honest

• Meticulous

• Engaging

• Ethical 

Your brand voice should be consistent across all your touchpoints: print, digital, in-person, etc. Your tone can and should change, depending on the scenario. 

For example, you might maintain a helpful voice with a dash of conversational tone while helping a customer troubleshoot an order on the phone.

Speak accordingly.