How to create a professional brand voice without sounding stiff

If you’re a business owner, offering a service, at least few of these things are true:

You’ve got a lot of experience and skill.
You have a tonne of knowledge in your field.
You know how to help clients achieve results.

Naturally, you want your level of expertise to be unmistakeable in your branding. Whether it’s through your website or any content you create, you want people to clearly see that you know what you’re talking about.

Unfortunately, when trying to write in a professional tone of voice, it’s all too easy to make yourself sound stiff and way too formal. Instead of expressing authority and trustworthiness, you end up being generic and forgettable.

So, in this post, we’ll get into some tips to help you create a professional brand voice that still avoids sounding like a corporate robot.

Why is sounding stiff a problem?

The biggest problem with a brand voice that is too stiff and formal is that it creates distance and actually works against your expertise. Instead of demonstrating your knowledge, it can leave your target audience feeling confused and too uncertain to reach out about your services.

Here’s what a stiff brand voice can look like:

Excessive jargon — Using too many industry buzzwords that might make sense for you and others in your field, but are indecipherable for clients.
Overly formal language — Instead of sounding impressive or offering any clarity, language like this just feels tedious and tiring to read.
A lack of personality — Taking out any human touches (such as humour or empathy) to try and be professional, often just means you struggle to connect with people.

The result is a brand voice that doesn’t sound approachable, which is a real issue when it should be a powerful tool that helps you book your services.

So, let’s get into how to fix it.

Reframe professionalism as clarity

The best way to create a professional brand voice is to think about professionalism in terms of clarity and confidence, not formality.

A true sign of expertise is being able to break down complex ideas into simple, everyday language. It reveals the level of deep understanding you have of your work, but also the understanding you have of your ideal client and where they’re coming from.

Stiff: “We are committed to leveraging synergistic methodologies.”
Professional: “We use a straightforward approach to get you clear results.”

Not only does this demonstrate your confidence in what you offer, but it also gives confidence to your audience. When they can more easily grasp what you’re saying, they can feel confident about taking that next step, and reaching out to work with you.

Lead with the desired outcome, not the services

If your brand messaging mostly focuses on explaining what your services involve (such as what’s included, how long it takes, what the steps are, etc.) then a powerful shift you can make is to emphasise the desired outcome of your clients.

The desired outcome is what your clients are really interested in. It’s the result they’re seeking to achieve, or the transformation they’re after. Ultimately, the desired outcome is the motivation behind why anyone would hire you to help them.

So, when it comes to your brand voice, this means leading with the destination. Then, the details of your services are positioned as a bridge or pathway that gets clients to that destination.

Stiff: “Our service includes three 60-minute phases.”
Professional: “You’ll move from confusion to crystal clarity in just three focused phases.”

This makes your brand voice a lot less generic, and emphasises the strategic and understanding nature of the work you do. It’s a whole lot more compelling.

For more on this idea, check out my post on Defining a brand purpose that motivates your ideal client

Inject personality into your brand voice

Finally, remember that your personality is a core part of your brand’s authority. Whether it’s a certain kind of humour, a hugely empathetic heart, relatable anecdotes, or any other human touch, this unique flavour makes your professional brand voice genuine and unforgettable.

Your brand personality is what makes people choose you over a competitor. The kind of person you are as a service professional as a huge impact on the kind of experience you deliver to clients. So you should demonstrate what that experience would feel like in every piece of branding, including the tone of your brand voice and the kind of language you use.

If you’re working on defining your brand personality, you should try out my Brand Personality Quiz.

Last thoughts

We all want to make sure our online presence sounds professional, with a brand voice that helps to build trust, credibility, and authority. But that professionalism shouldn’t ever come at the expense of leaving out the personable traits that make your brand feel relatable and human. Use the tips above to keep your brand compelling, and give people a reason to want to work with you.

Looking for more direct help? Book a free clarity call to discover the next steps you should be taking to grow and strength your brand.