ICC Style Guide 2022

Our Tone of Voice and Personality

When we communicate as a brand, we are genuine, positive, credible and clear. We keep our message direct, simple and to the point. To establish consistency across all Ipswich City Council touchpoints, our tone of voice must reflect our personality – friendly, confident, proud, colourful and enterprising. It is also important to keep in mind who we are communicating with and tailor our tone of voice accordingly. Active Versus Passive Wherever possible, we use an active voice. Active sentences are when the subject performs the action. They are typically shorter, more efficient and more powerful. Scientists conducted experiments to test the hypothesis. Passive sentences often use more words and can be vague, as the subject of the sentence is not always known. In passive sentences the subject (named or unnamed) has an action performed on it. Experiments were conducted by scientists to test the hypothesis. (subject named). Experiments were conducted to test the hypothesis. (subject not named).

Ipswich City Council – Brand Style Guide 2021

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