Same old, same old. It feels like every time we look around at writing lately, we’re struck with deja vu. It’s ignited conversation on LinkedIn and in meeting rooms, and has begged the question plaguing writers around the world—is AI exceptional or have we become too easy to replicate? But amidst the panic and speculation, it’s important to remember that great writing, like many things, doesn’t happen the moment your metaphorical pen hits paper. It starts long before that, with the right ingredients. If we want to create something truly different, we need to do things differently.
It’s tough though. Shrinking budgets, small teams, lack of brand writing resources. When you’re faced with a blank page, looking around at voices that work for everyone else is tempting. The trouble is, when you only pull inspiration from what’s out there already, you’re bound to replicate it. And what’s worse, the thing you’re replicating might not quite ladder up to who you are or what you’re trying to say.
"Think about the ways you want your audience to feel, and take inspiration from beyond the branding world."
Let’s face it, not everyone can be an Oatly. A Nike. A Mailchimp. More importantly, not everyone should be. So, once you’ve defined what you’re all about and the time comes to craft the way you sound, search far and wide for starting points. Don’t rush. Think about the ways you want your audience to feel, and take inspiration from beyond the branding world.
Once you start searching, you’ll begin to notice that voice inspiration is everywhere. From recipe books to video games. Literature to musicals. Ephemera, stand-up, TV. Mix and match your favourite attributes from characters real and fictional. Start to pick apart what makes these voices distinct. Is it the speaker’s calming presence? Use of evocative descriptions? Is it slang from a bygone era? Their ability to make weird and wonderful associations? The poetic way they can describe a complex feeling?
Once you begin to identify the key ingredients, take time to understand how these traits might work hard for you. How they can help you evoke the right feelings from your audience. This exercise will help you move beyond the expected, and find something entirely your own. It will turn tonalities like playful into lyrical. Confident into charismatic.
"Don’t be afraid to get specific. More than ever, your writing has to work for different audiences across different mediums."
Don’t be afraid to get specific. More than ever, your writing has to work for different audiences across different mediums. But when we try to speak to everyone all of the time, we speak to no one. Flexibility is important, but it can lead to generic tonalities that are too open to interpretation. Rendering your tone of voice guidelines muddled right out the gate. Use your tonalities to flex your voice to different occasions. In some instances, you need all the charisma you can get. In others, it’s okay to get lyrical.
This process takes time, but great writing always has. And the more often we craft incredible voices, the more we can prove to our clients and teams why it’s worthwhile to do so. Because when it comes down to it, a great story is just that. But a great story well-told is unforgettable.
Written by Sarah Grech, Voice Lead at Mother Design
Same old, same old. It feels like every time we look around at writing lately, we’re struck with deja vu. It’s ignited conversation on LinkedIn and in meeting rooms, and has begged the question plaguing writers around the world—is AI exceptional or have we become too easy to replicate? But amidst the panic and speculation, it’s important to remember that great writing, like many things, doesn’t happen the moment your metaphorical pen hits paper. It starts long before that, with the right ingredients. If we want to create something truly different, we need to do things differently.
It’s tough though. Shrinking budgets, small teams, lack of brand writing resources. When you’re faced with a blank page, looking around at voices that work for everyone else is tempting. The trouble is, when you only pull inspiration from what’s out there already, you’re bound to replicate it. And what’s worse, the thing you’re replicating might not quite ladder up to who you are or what you’re trying to say.
"Think about the ways you want your audience to feel, and take inspiration from beyond the branding world."
Let’s face it, not everyone can be an Oatly. A Nike. A Mailchimp. More importantly, not everyone should be. So, once you’ve defined what you’re all about and the time comes to craft the way you sound, search far and wide for starting points. Don’t rush. Think about the ways you want your audience to feel, and take inspiration from beyond the branding world.
Once you start searching, you’ll begin to notice that voice inspiration is everywhere. From recipe books to video games. Literature to musicals. Ephemera, stand-up, TV. Mix and match your favourite attributes from characters real and fictional. Start to pick apart what makes these voices distinct. Is it the speaker’s calming presence? Use of evocative descriptions? Is it slang from a bygone era? Their ability to make weird and wonderful associations? The poetic way they can describe a complex feeling?
Once you begin to identify the key ingredients, take time to understand how these traits might work hard for you. How they can help you evoke the right feelings from your audience. This exercise will help you move beyond the expected, and find something entirely your own. It will turn tonalities like playful into lyrical. Confident into charismatic.
"Don’t be afraid to get specific. More than ever, your writing has to work for different audiences across different mediums."
Don’t be afraid to get specific. More than ever, your writing has to work for different audiences across different mediums. But when we try to speak to everyone all of the time, we speak to no one. Flexibility is important, but it can lead to generic tonalities that are too open to interpretation. Rendering your tone of voice guidelines muddled right out the gate. Use your tonalities to flex your voice to different occasions. In some instances, you need all the charisma you can get. In others, it’s okay to get lyrical.
This process takes time, but great writing always has. And the more often we craft incredible voices, the more we can prove to our clients and teams why it’s worthwhile to do so. Because when it comes down to it, a great story is just that. But a great story well-told is unforgettable.
Written by Sarah Grech, Voice Lead at Mother Design
Further Reading
