Short answer: Your brand voice is how your business sounds in everything it writes and says. The voice stays the same, while the tone adjusts to the moment, more careful with a complaint than with a thank-you. Define it in a few words, say what each one means and doesn’t, and give your team examples to copy.
Voice and tone
The Microsoft style guide puts it simply: there’s what you say, your message, and there’s how you say it, your voice. Its voice stays constant whoever it is talking to, while its tone moves from serious to empathetic to lighthearted to fit the context and how the customer feels.
The Mailchimp style guide makes the same split. You have the same voice all the time, but your tone changes, the way you talk to close friends at dinner differently than to your boss in a meeting. A customer who is upset needs a different tone than one who is laughing, from the same brand.
How large companies describe their voice
Large companies publish their style guides, and they show what a defined voice looks like. They describe their own brands, so read them as examples, not rules.
Microsoft describes its voice with three principles: warm and relaxed, crisp and clear, and ready to lend a hand. Mailchimp uses four traits: plainspoken, genuine, translators of jargon, and a dry sense of humor.
Google’s guide for its developer documentation aims for conversational, friendly and respectful, without slang. It asks writers to sound like a knowledgeable friend, and to be neither super-entertaining nor super-dry.
All three put clarity first. Mailchimp says it’s always more important to be clear than entertaining, and Microsoft’s first style tip is to get to the point fast.
How to define your brand voice
- Collect a few messages you wrote that customers liked, such as emails, posts or review replies.
- Pick a short list of words for how you want to sound.
- For each word, write what it means and what it doesn’t, such as warm but not overly familiar.
- Decide how you address customers, by first name or not.
- Make two lists: words you like and words you never use.
- Write one message in your voice for a happy moment and one for a tense one.
- Put it all on one page and share it with everyone who writes for you.
This method is ours, not a rule from any of the style guides. The page from the last step belongs in your brand guidelines, next to your logo and colors.
Adjusting the tone
Before you write, think about how the reader feels, as Mailchimp’s guide suggests. A thank-you for a five-star review can be light. A reply to an angry customer should stay calm and specific, which our guide to responding to negative reviews covers.
| Message | Too casual | About right | Too formal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Appointment reminder | Yo! Don’t forget us tomorrow | See you tomorrow at 10:00 AM. Need another time? Just reply. | This message serves as a reminder of your scheduled appointment |
| Running late on an order | Oops, our bad, it’s coming | Your order is a day late. It ships Thursday, and we’re sorry. | We regret to inform you that a delay has occurred |
| Price question | Cheap as chips, trust us | A cleaning starts at the price on our website. Want a quote? | Pricing information is available upon request |
Our own examples, in the format of the table in Google’s developer documentation style guide, read on November 6, 2026.
Humor needs the same care. Mailchimp says to be funny only when it’s appropriate and comes naturally, since forced humor can be worse than none at all. Google lists being too cutesy among the things to avoid.
Plain words in any voice
Whatever voice you pick, plain language keeps it readable. Digital.gov, the U.S. government’s guide to plain language, says content is easier to understand with shorter words, short sections, active voice and present tense.
Active voice makes it clear who does what: not “It must be done,” but “You must do it.” Its examples of hidden verbs show the same idea: “We analyze data” is clearer than “We conduct an analysis of the data.”
Read your text out loud, as Google suggests: if a sentence sounds awkward or confusing when spoken, see whether you can make it more conversational. If you write in English and Spanish, define the voice in both languages, with examples in each. Google notes that simple and consistent writing is also easier to translate.
Your about page is where the voice shows most, as our about us page guide explains.
Before you share your voice guide
- Each word of your voice comes with what it means and what it doesn’t.
- You decided how to address customers.
- You have a list of words to use and words to skip.
- You have examples for a happy moment and a tense one.
- The voice is written in English and Spanish if you sell in both.
- It sits in your brand guidelines, where your team can find it.
RememberYour voice stays the same and your tone adjusts to the moment. Describe the voice in a few words with what each one means, give your team examples, and keep the language plain whatever voice you choose.
Our branding service writes down how your brand sounds: its tone, its tagline and its vocabulary, in English and Spanish. Two brands in one category sound different the moment they speak. Send us a WhatsApp message or use the form.
Quick answers about brand voice
What is the difference between brand voice and tone?
Voice is how your business sounds all the time; tone is how that voice adjusts to the moment. Microsoft keeps its voice constant and adapts its tone, from serious to empathetic to lighthearted, to the context and how the customer feels.
How many words should describe my brand voice?
There is no rule. Microsoft uses three principles and Mailchimp four traits. A short list your team can remember works better than a long one, as long as each word comes with what it means and what it doesn’t.
Should my brand voice be formal or casual?
It depends on your customers, but the style guides we read lean the same way. Google aims for conversational, friendly and respectful without slang, and Microsoft for warm and relaxed. Clarity comes first in both.
Can my brand use humor?
If it fits who you are, yes, but sparingly. Mailchimp says to be funny only when it’s appropriate and comes naturally, since forced humor can be worse than none. Google lists being too cutesy among the things to avoid.
How do I keep the same voice in English and Spanish?
Define it in both languages, with examples written in each, instead of translating one into the other. Google notes that simple and consistent writing also makes content easier to translate.
Sources
Sources read on November 6, 2026: Microsoft's brand voice: Above all, simple and human (Microsoft Writing Style Guide). Voice and Tone (Mailchimp Content Style Guide). Voice and tone (Google developer documentation style guide). Writing for understanding (Digital.gov).