The tone of success: speak the language of your audience

In 15 seconds:?

The right tone is key to enhancing credibility, conveying authority, and engaging readers. Tone can be objective or subjective, formal or informal, and positive or negative. Understanding tone allows you to create powerful, engaging documents that resonate with your readers, whomever they may be.?

In 5 minutes:

Tone can make or break a piece of writing. In academic and report writing, the right tone can enhance credibility, convey authority, and engage readers. In this article, we’ll explore three of the foundational tones to consider in writing and how you can use them to tailor your readers receive your message.?

Defining tone: The voice of your writing

Tone is the attitude or feeling your writing conveys to the reader. The author’s choice of words and phrases influences readers’ feelings about the subject matter. Tone can be formal, informal, serious, lighthearted, professional, or casual, and it should always be appropriate for the intended audience and purpose of the document. Here’s how we manage tone at Written Progress…

1. ? ? ? Objective Vs. Subjective Tone

Maintaining an objective and professional tone is one of the most critical aspects of academic and report writing. This tone conveys a sense of authority, expertise, and credibility. Meanwhile, subjective tone elicits or conveys personal emotions, and is best saved for writing from a personal perspective. For instance, take a look at these two sentences related to climate change:

Objective: The scientific community has reached a consensus:? global temperatures are rising as a result of human activity.

Subjective: It is clear that humans cause global warming, and it’s about time we start doing something about it.

The objective tone in the first sentence conveys authority and expertise. In contrast, the second emphasizes the writer’s convictions on the topic.?

2. ? ? ? Formal Vs. Informal Tone

When it comes to tone, considering your intended audience is crucial. You’ll want to adjust the formality of your tone up or down to ensure that the person reading it feels engaged in the way they themselves prefer to communicate. For example:

Formal: Developing sustainable practices is essential to the planet’s long-term survival.

Informal: We need to start taking care of the Earth if we want it to stick around for a while.

An overly informal tone can detract from the credibility of your message when you’re speaking to academics, and an overly formal tone can turn off the broader public. When in doubt, consider how your audience would state it in their own words.

3. ? ? ? Positive Vs. Negative Tone

Another aspect of tone to consider is whether your messaging is positive or negative. A positive tone can encourage readers to adopt new practices and feel optimistic about the potential impact. In contrast, a negative tone can leave readers feeling discouraged, judged, and overwhelmed. Take a look at these examples:

Positive: Implementing climate-smart agriculture practices can increase productivity, greater resilience, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Negative: Ignoring the benefits of climate-smart agriculture practices can result in decreased productivity, vulnerability to climate change, and increased greenhouse gas emissions.?

Unlike objectivity and formality, both ends of the positive-negative spectrum are not created equal. Negative tone should be used sparingly, and generally in an ironic or joking context. When in doubt, stick with a positive tone – it better conveys the benefits of a particular action and empowers readers to have a positive impact.

Conclusion?

Tone makes the difference between resonating with your reader and missing the mark. Objectivity, formality, and positivity are all levers you can use to drive action rather than deflate it. A solid understanding of tone will help you create powerful, engaging words that ring true with your readers.?

Here at Written Progress , we are Mastresses at getting your message across. Get in touch today and set the tone for your success!