Brand Voice

Home Before you write Make it clear Make it count Further guidance

For greater understanding and for you to better reinforce our brand principles, we have broken down our brand voice into 4 steps for you to navigate through.

Breaking it down

Further guidance

Make it count

Make it clear

Before you write

It’ll help you be your own copywriter. The big idea behind all our writing is to make it clear and make it count. Making it clear means using language that’s easy to follow, rather than formal and complicated. But clarity alone isn’t enough. The best writing has opinion, pace and impact. That’s what makes people want to keep reading. Which is where making it count comes in. It’s about borrowing a few storytelling tricks to keep your readers interested.

What’s this guide for?

Click the circles below to navigate to your step

It’s for you. Whoever you’re communicating with, whatever you’re communicating about, and whether you’re speaking or writing. That goes for all languages too. We want to give the same impression wherever we are in the world, so although the specific rules might be different in different languages, the spirit is always the same.

Our brand voice is a powerful tool. It’s a unique way of writing that can help you make your point more clearly, confidently and distinctively. Whether you’re talking to clients or colleagues. It’s also rooted in our brand. Every time you write, you’ll be reinforcing the principles of our brand experience and helping us stand out.

Who’s our brand voice for?

Years ago, the corporate world was littered with jargon, buzzwords and formal, stuffy writing. That’s changed. Today, the brands that don’t sound clear and human feel old-fashioned.

A guide to bringing our experience to life through words

Our brand voice

Home Before you write Make it clear Make it count Further guidance

Step 2: Make it clear

Before you start, ask yourself five questions:

Good writing is built around the audience, not the writer. And our audiences vary hugely, so it’s vital to gauge things like their level of technical knowledge and the broader context of your message.

Before you write

Get to the point Talk straight to the reader Drop or explain jargon Use the active voice Use everyday words Stick to one thought per sentence Keep your paragraphs short Break up longer messages with sub-headings Use bullet points and numbered lists

Home Before you write Make it clear Make it count Further guidance

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Step 3: Make it count

Use bullet points and numbered lists

If you’re writing a list of three or more things, or a step-by-step process with three or more parts, use bullet points or numbers to split it up.

So this

There are three matters affecting employers that are most likely to face elimination: the employer mandate, which fines companies of 50 workers or more that don’t offer healthcare benefits or offer benefits that don’t meet minimum requirements, taxes on certain high-cost (or Cadillac) health plans, and certain costly employer reporting requirements.

Becomes this

1: 2: 3:

The employer mandate, which fines companies of 50 workers or more that don’t offer healthcare benefits or offer benefits that don’t meet minimum requirements. Taxes on certain high-cost (or Cadillac) health plans. Certain costly employer reporting requirements.

There are three matters affecting employers that are most likely to face elimination:

Break up longer messages with sub-headings

summary,

Questions

Throughout this guide, we’ve used sub-headings to introduce new writing tips. It means you can scan through and find what you’re looking for. There are two types to choose from. Questions are a good way to involve your reader. For instance, if you were writing a bid for new business and including a section on our people, you might use a sub-heading like this: What makes our people different? The second option is a summary, like most of the sub-headings in this guide. They’re a short version of what’s coming next. So using the bid example again, you might say: Our people speak 37 languages.

Keep your paragraphs short

Just like your sentences, each paragraph should make one, main point. So as soon as you get near to 50-60 words, start thinking about pressing the ‘enter’ button to break up the paragraph.

So this

For most companies with significant leases as a lessee, the chances are that a significant number of those leases are held off-balance sheet. The IASB has noted that in their analysis of 30,000 globally listed companies 14,000 of them disclose information about off balance sheet leases in their annual reports. The undiscounted future minimum payments for the off balance sheet leases of those 14,000 list companies totalled US$2.86 trillion, with the present value of those payments estimated to be US$2.18 trillion. These companies will be bringing significant amounts onto their balance sheets, resulting in increased lease assets and financial liabilities and decreased equity. Are you prepared for the organisational changes required to accomplish this?

Becomes this

Stick to one thought per sentence

We need to make people’s lives easy. That means breaking down your message so that each sentence carries a single point.

So this

This is a cornerstone of the government's skills agenda, creating a system which puts employers at the heart of designing and funding apprenticeships to support productivity and growth.

Becomes this

This is a cornerstone of the government's skills agenda. It creates a system which puts employers at the heart of designing and funding apprenticeships. This, in turn, supports productivity and growth.

Use everyday words

So choose words you’d really say.

There’s a perception that formal, complicated language makes us look smart. But the opposite’s true. Professor Daniel Oppenheimer from Princeton did some research that shows the clearer your words, the more intelligent people think you are.

Sorry

Apologise

Start

Commence

Make sure

Ensure

Tell

Communicate

Execute

Buy

Purchase

Need

Require

Becomes this

Get

So this

Obtain

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Use the active voice

The active voice makes us clear and accountable. The passive voice does the opposite.

So this

Have the loan agreements been reviewed?

Becomes this

Has Dave reviewed the loan agreements?

Drop or explain jargon

CAGR. EBITDA. Straw man. Gantt charts. There’s plenty of jargon in our world. Use it if you’re certain your audience knows it already. But if you’re not certain, either drop it or explain it. (Even if that means upping the word count.)

So this

Review your loan covenants against current UK GAAP.

Becomes this

Review your loan conditions against current Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).

Talk straight to the reader

One way to do it is to force yourself to use the word ‘you’ as early as possible. It’ll help you focus on your reader and start with something relevant to them, rather than something only we care about.

So this

The date for preparation of the first small company financial statements in compliance with FRS 102 is 31 December 2016 for December year-ends.

Becomes this

If you run a small company, you need to prepare your financial statements for December year-ends by 31 December to comply with FRS 102.

So this

In accordance with your instructions set out in our engagement letter dated [date] (the ‘Letter of engagement’), a copy of which is provided in appendix [C] of this report, we have pleasure in enclosing a copy of our report prepared in connection with Project [Name].

Get to the point

The people we speak and write to are busy. If we can save them five minutes by cutting out irrelevant information, they’ll thank us.

Becomes this

Here’s our report on your project. You’ll also find a copy of our engagement letter in appendix C.

How to do it

We want to be easy to do business with. That means making readers’ and listeners’ lives as easy as possible, and saving them time. We do that by using the same warm, clear language we’d use in face-to-face conversations. And by getting to the point straight away.

Make it clear

Use your local campaign or content Be clear of the action Ask ‘So what?’ Ask questions Have an opinion Back up claims with something concrete Vary your sentence lengths

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Step 4: Further guidance

Vary your sentence lengths

We talk a lot about how dynamic our clients are. So our writing should be dynamic too. One way to do it is to make sure your sentences are a mixture of different lengths. It’ll keep your readers interested, If you want to draw attention to a particular message, you can put it in a really short sentence.

Becomes this

Digital technology can be expensive. It’s unfamiliar. It’s risky. And if the approach is out of line with the direction that the business is taking, it can be a useless drain on resources.

So this

Digital technology can be expensive, unfamiliar and risky, and if the approach is out of line with the direction that the business is taking, it can be a useless drain on resources.

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Back up claims with something concrete

Of all the skills and qualities we bring to the table, it’s our experience that sets us apart. We’ve been around for a long time, so we’ve got plenty of stories, quotes, statistics, awards and more to back up any claims we make about ourselves. It shows we’re pragmatic and principled – and gives us something positive to say, so we’ll never need to talk negatively about our competitors.

Becomes this

We’ve got a flat structure with no complex chains of command, so everyone can contribute ideas, rather than a few select people.

So this

We’re an innovative team.

Have an opinion

Our clients depend on our advice. So when the time’s right, give your opinion. And be bold with it

Becomes this

Most cyber risk initiatives aren’t robust enough.

So this

An aligned, integrated and measurable cyber risk management program is an important part of any business strategy.

Ask questions

In our global client value proposition (CVP) we talk about being people who ‘ask the right questions, listen and provide real insight’. That applies both when we’re speaking and writing.

Becomes this

Are you ready for FRS 102?

So this

FRS 102 is about to come into effect.

Ask ‘So what?’

We’ve got a higher-than-normal partner to staff ratio

Here’s the analysis pack we’ve based our decision on.

Keep asking ‘So what?’ until you get to something that’s meaningful for people, then write about that.

Always focus on what’s in it for your audience. A good way to do it is to ask yourself ‘So what?’

So what?

You’ll get more time with our senior people.

So what?

It’ll explain why we’ve made our recommendation.

Be clear of the action

1. Give them some motivation. People are much more likely to act if there’s a good reason. 2. Make it as easy as possible. So if you want them to go to a website, give them a direct link. If you want them to set up a meeting, tell them the time that works best for you.

If there’s something you want people to do after hearing or reading what you’ve got to say, make sure you highlight it. That means doing two things:

Becomes this

Here’s the employee survey. It’ll only take you ten minutes to fill in. And it’s the best way we’ve got of fixing the problems that make your working life more difficult than it should be.

So this

The employee survey is now live, and can be found on the intranet. This is an important way for the business to gather feedback so it is important that everyone fills it in.

Use campaign messages and content

If there are certain campaign associations you are trying to reinforce, make sure you connect to them. But don’t just drop in a catchphrase, use ideas, words and stories creatively to connect the messages.

How to do it

Clear writing is vital, but it’s not enough by itself. We want our audience to feel energised and inspired. We want to provoke a positive reaction. We want them to be inspired by what we offer, and be enthused about working with us. That means going beyond clarity and into language that makes an impact.

Make it count

Home Before you write Make it clear Make it count Further guidance

We hope you’ve found this writing guide helpful. You can read further guidance in: · our policy on describing Grant Thornton · our style guide If you’d like to ask anything or you’ve spotted some writing that needs to change contact gtimarketing@gti.gt.com

Further guidance and writing tips