Voice and tone
Our voice
Our voice is our personality. It’s consistent across everything we write and never fundamentally changes. It connects us to our users and reflects what we stand for. Different aspects of our voice are more prominent at certain times but the character underneath stays the same. We are:
1. Brave but not reckless
We’re not a 'standard' agency: we have beliefs and we’re not afraid to share them. We stand up for our values and for doing things differently.
2. Optimistic but not unrealistic
We use positive language and emphasise the possibilities over the problems. But we’re not blind to hurdles that need to be overcome.
3. Cooperative and helpful but not patronising
We love working with others, and we believe in sharing our experiences and insights. We don’t assume prior knowledge, but we also don’t assume that we know more than the people we’re working with.
4. Warm, friendly and informal but not insincere
We’re human beings and we avoid sounding like a faceless business. We talk to people as we’d talk to a friend of a friend. We’re very sparing with exclamation marks and emoji.
5. Open and straight-talking but not abrasive
We say things as we see them. We don’t beat around the bush. We’re not afraid of hard truths but we consider people’s feelings when we express them.
6. Playful but not flippant
We don’t take ourselves too seriously and we like to make light of things. But we sometimes deal with serious issues and we don’t take those lightly.
Our tone
The Agile Collective tone is how our voice flexes and adapts in different contexts to create effective, empathetic, appropriate content.
Our proposals will most likely sound different to the copy on our website, which will vary from our comms with our existing clients.
Empathetic
We always consider people’s frame of mind. If someone’s website is broken we share their concern and offer reassurance. If an organisation is navigating a difficult rebrand, we acknowledge that before we talk about deliverables.
- Do: acknowledge the situation before jumping to solutions
- Don’t: lead with our process when someone is stressed or uncertain
Inclusive
We value everyone’s contributions and don’t talk down to people. Whether they’re a client, a workmate, a collaborator or someone we just met at a conference, we treat them as equals and value their perspective and experiences.
- Do: assume competence and intelligence in the reader
- Don’t: over explain or use language that positions us as the expert and them as the novice
Assertive
We are experienced, knowledgeable experts. Our work is designed to have impact. When talking about our methods, we’re not afraid to explain why we do particular things in a certain way.
- Do: say ‘we recommend’ or ‘we’ve found that’ with confidence
- Don’t: hedge everything with ‘it might be worth considering’ when we have a clear view.
Tone calibration by audience type
Our voice stays the same but emphasis, vocabulary and register shift depending on who we’re writing for.
| Audience type | What they care about | Tone emphasis |
|---|---|---|
| Public sector | Accountability, process, value for public money | More formal, evidence-led. Lead with outcomes and deliverables. Reference standards (WCAG, a11y) where relevant. |
| Charities | Shared mission, impact, long-term partnership, community impact, budget consciousness. | Warm, values-led, collaborative. Show we understand the constraints. Plain, human language. |
| Membership orgs | Member value, engagement, community, demonstrating value to members | Focus on the end user (their members) as well as the client. |
| NGOs | Impact, transparency, international reach. | Values alignment, transparency. |
| Educational institutions | Student experience, accessibility, long-term support | Respectful, clear, jargon-light. Lead with accessibility and long-term thinking - show we understand the complexity of their stakeholders. |
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