What is tone in writing?
Tone in writing can be difficult to define, but we all know it when we see it.
Tone is the writer's attitude toward the topic at hand, and it can be communicated in a myriad of ways. Sometimes it's the words that are chosen, sometimes it's the syntax or sentence structure, and sometimes it's the way a paragraph is organized. It is often conveyed through irony, sarcasm, humor or exaggeration.
The tone you adopt in your writing should be in line with your target audience and the kind of content you are producing. For example, if you are writing a report, you will likely want to use a formal tone. If you are writing a blog post for millennials, you may want to use a more casual tone.
In order to be an effective writer, it's important to be aware of the tone you're using in your writing, and to adjust your tone as needed to convey your message most effectively. In this post, we'll break down the basics of tones in writing, and show you how to use them in your own work.
The difference between tone and voice
You may often hear tone and voice used interchangeably. While they are both used to express yourself, they are fundamentally different.
Tone is the attitude that the writer takes towards the topic, while voice is the personality of the writer. When you're thinking about your tone, you want to think about your audience and how you want to come across to them.
A good example to refer to is MailChimp’s style guide that distinguishes between tone and voice.
You have the same voice all the time, but your tone changes. You might use one tone when you're out to dinner with your closest friends, and a different tone when you're in a meeting with your boss. — MailChimp
Their voice is that of an encouraging, experienced and informative business partner to their readers, while their tone is informal and humorous.
It's important to distinguish between tone and voice because they can drastically change the meaning of your words.
The tone of your writing changes depending on your attitude, while the voice draws on your writing personality to decide how you express that attitude. When you nail both tone and voice in your writing, it becomes immensely more powerful and effective.
Why is tone important?
A study conducted by Nielsen found that different tones of voice in websites impacted a users’ impressions of the author’s friendliness, trustworthiness, and desirability.
Tone is one of the most subtle but powerful tools you have as a writer. It can be used to set a positive or negative tone, depending on what you're trying to achieve. Tone can also be used to create a specific feeling or mood, which can be very effective in online writing.
When used correctly, tones can help you connect with your readers on an emotional level and make your writing more engaging. It's the difference between talking to a friend and talking to a stranger.
A good tone will make your written piece stand out and be more noticeable than the competition. With so much noise online, it's more important than ever to find a tone that resonates with your audience and sets you apart from the pack.
What tone should you use?
There's no one-size-fits-all answer to this question, as the tone you use in your writing will be largely dependent on the topic at hand and your target audience for that piece. When in doubt, try out several different tones until you find the one that feels right.
If you're writing about a serious or sensitive topic, it's best to use a more formal tone. This will help convey the importance of the subject matter and show that you're taking it seriously.
If you're writing for a more lighthearted audience, go with a more informal tone—this will make readers feel like they're conversing with a friend.
Be sure to adjust your tone depending on the type of content you're creating as well. A blog post about baking cookies is going to require a much different tone than an article about the Zika virus.
Types of Tones in Writing
Another study by Nielsen identified that there are 4 primary dimensions of tones in writing.
Imagine a sliding scale.
The tone a writer can use can be at either end of the spectrum, or anywhere in between.
- Funny vs. serious: Is the content trying to be humorous or is it trying to be serious?
- Formal vs. casual: Is the writing formal, informal or casual?
- Respectful vs. irreverent: Is the subject approached in a respectful or irreverant manner? (In practice, most irreverent tones are irreverent about the subject matter, in an effort to set the brand apart from competitors. They are not usually intentionally irreverent or offensive to the reader.)
- Enthusiastic vs. matter-of-fact: Is enthusiasm about the subject matter portrayed in the writing or is it very matter-of-fact?
Using these high-level dimensions of tone, you can then refine your tone further with more specific tone words like “apologetic, caring and helpful”.
There are a lot of different tones you can use when writing, and each one has a different purpose. At the core of your content, there’s a message that is to be communicated to the reader.
Let’s say the message is to inform buyers that their order has been shipped.
We can see how this message is applied with the different tones below.
With a serious, formal, respectful and matter-of-fact tone, we would get something polite, professional and to the point.
“We would like to inform you that your order has been dispatched.”
To tweak it to become more casual, we can employ the use of contractions and casual additions.
“We’d like to tell you that your order has been dispatched from our end.”
It uses contractions like “we’d” and additions like “from our end” make things seem more casual. This message still retains elements of being serious, respectful and matter-of-factly, but with a more casual twist.
To make the message enthusiastic and even more casual, we can employ the use of exclamation marks as well as change our language to sound more excited.
“Hey there, your order has left our warehouse and is on its way to you!”
Now, for the message to employ funny, casual, irreverent and enthusiastic dimensions:
“Oh no, your parcel got stolen by a raccoon! (Just kidding, it’s on it’s way to you.)
Refining your tone to suit the context will make your content appear to be more compelling.
Conclusion
Tone in writing is incredibly important for grabbing and holding the attention of your audience. By using different tones, you can better engage with your readers.
When writing for the web, it's especially important to use tones that are appropriate for your audience and for the medium you're writing in. And remember— tone should be varied to match the emotional state of your readers while your voice should remain the same.
The benefits of using different tones in your writing are many, and when used correctly, they can help you create better content that's more engaging for your readers.
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