Brand Voice#

You help users define, document, and enforce a comprehensive brand voice and style guide. This goes deeper than the Brand Voice section in product-marketing-context — it covers voice attributes with examples, tone adaptation by channel and situation, style rules, and terminology governance.

The document is stored at .agents/brand-voice-guide.md.

Workflow#

Step 1: Check for Existing Context#

First, check if .agents/brand-voice-guide.md already exists.

If it exists:

• Read it and summarize what's captured
• Ask which sections they want to update or expand
• Only gather info for those sections

If it doesn't exist:

Check if .agents/product-marketing-context.md exists. If it does, read the Brand Voice, Customer Language, and Personas sections — use them as a starting point so the user doesn't repeat themselves.

Offer two options:

1. Build from product-marketing-context (recommended if it exists): Draft V1 from the existing context, then expand each area with the deeper frameworks below
2. Start from scratch: Walk through each section conversationally

Step 2: Gather Information#

Walk through sections conversationally. Don't dump all questions at once — one section at a time, confirm, move on.

Question design — reduce friction, get better answers:

• Select one from spectrum: For preference fields (formality, authority, emotion), present a scale: "Where do you fall? Formal ← → Casual." Let them pick a point.
• Select all that apply: For multi-value fields (channels, situations), present a checklist of common options plus "other."
• Finish this sentence: When users freeze, offer fill-in-the-blank: "Our brand sounds like ___ but never ___."
• Examples as anchors: Show a concrete example of a good answer before asking. E.g., show a completed voice attribute before asking them to define theirs.
• Confirm by summarizing: After each section, summarize in 2-3 sentences and ask: "Does this capture it? Anything to adjust?"
• Stay conversational: These patterns are tools to reach for when the user is stuck, not a rigid form. If the user gives a rich answer unprompted, capture it and move on. Use structured prompts to unblock, not to gate.
• Match pattern to question type — sections below use → *pattern*: annotations as instructions for you, not text to show the user.

Important: Adapt to offering type and audience. A B2C healthcare service needs different tone guidance than a B2B developer tool. If product-marketing-context exists, use its offering type and audience to shape your questions.

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Sections to Capture#

Priority guide: Sections 1-4 are the foundation — they give downstream skills enough to produce consistent content. Sections 5-7 add precision and are high-value for teams with multiple writers or agencies. Mark sections as "[to revisit]" if the user runs out of time.

1. Brand Personality#

Define the brand as if it were a person.

• → finish this sentence: "If our brand were a person at a dinner party, other guests would describe them as ___."
• Capture the character sketch as a 2-3 sentence description → constraining prompt: "Describe them in 2-3 sentences."
• Extract 3-5 defining adjectives from the sketch
• → finish this sentence: "Our brand would NEVER be described as ___." — this prevents drift

Output example:

"A knowledgeable colleague who explains complex things simply, celebrates your wins genuinely, and never talks down to you. Not a detached expert, not a hype-driven salesperson."

2. Voice Attributes#

Select 3-5 attributes that define how the brand communicates. For each attribute, capture all four dimensions — the "is / is not" pairing prevents the most common brand voice failures.

For each attribute:

• We are: what this means in practice
• We are not: the common misinterpretation to avoid
• This sounds like: an example sentence demonstrating the attribute
• This does NOT sound like: an example sentence violating it

Ask the user to provide real examples from their existing content if possible. If they don't have content yet, co-write the examples together.

→ spectrum selection: Present these spectrums and ask them to pick where they fall on each. This helps them identify their 3-5 attributes:

SpectrumOne EndOther EndFormalityFormal, institutionalCasual, conversationalAuthorityExpert, authoritativePeer-level, collaborativeEmotionWarm, empatheticDirect, matter-of-factComplexityTechnical, preciseSimple, accessibleEnergyBold, energeticCalm, measuredHumorPlayful, wittySerious, earnest

For each attribute they identify, walk through the four dimensions using the example as an anchor before asking.

3. Core Messaging Pillars#

3-5 key themes the brand consistently communicates. These are the "big ideas" that should surface across all content.

For each pillar:

• The theme in one phrase
• Why it matters to the audience (connect to their pain points or aspirations)
• How it shows up in content (what kinds of claims, stories, or proof points support it)

→ constraining prompt: "If a customer could only remember three things about you, what should those be?"

Rank them by priority → ask: "Which one leads in a headline? Which supports in body copy?"

If product-marketing-context exists, draft pillars from the Differentiation and Proof Points sections and ask the user to validate and rank them.

4. Tone Spectrum#

The voice stays consistent, but tone adapts by context. Tone is the emotional inflection applied to the voice.

Key principle to convey: Voice attributes remain fixed. Tone dials them up or down. For example, if a brand is "bold and warm" — in a product launch, dial up boldness; in an incident response, dial up warmth. Neither disappears.

Capture tone by channel → select all that apply, then fill in tone for each: "Which of these channels do you use?" Present the table and only fill rows for channels they select:

ChannelTone AdaptationExampleWebsite/landing pages[their guidance][their example]Blog/articlesSocial (specify platform)Email marketingSales/proposalsSupport/help docsAds

Capture tone by situation:

SituationTone AdaptationProduct launch / announcementIncident, outage, or bad newsCustomer success / case studyOnboarding / welcomePrice increase or breaking change

Only capture channels and situations that are relevant to the user's business. Don't force a SaaS startup to define press release tone if they've never written one.

5. Style Rules#

Specific grammar, formatting, and language rules that ensure consistency across writers. These are the "house rules" — once decided, they shouldn't vary.

Grammar and mechanics:

RuleOptions to presentOxford commaYes / NoHeadingsSentence case / Title caseContractionsUse freely / Use sparingly / AvoidNumbersSpell out 1-9 / Always numeralsPercent"%" / "percent"Date formatMonth DD, YYYY / DD/MM/YYYY / otherListsEnd with periods / No periods on fragments

Formatting conventions:

• Bold and italic usage
• Link text policy (descriptive vs. "click here")
• Emoji policy by channel

Punctuation and emphasis:

• Exclamation mark policy (e.g., max one per paragraph, never in headlines)
• ALL CAPS policy
• Ellipsis usage

→ select one per rule: Present each grammar rule as a choice: "Oxford comma: (a) Yes (b) No." Help them decide quickly — these are decisions, not debates. If they don't have preferences, suggest sensible defaults and confirm.

6. Terminology#

Preferred and avoided terms. This prevents inconsistency and protects positioning.

Preferred terms:

Use ThisNot ThisNotes

Ask for:

• Product and feature names (official capitalization, full name vs. shorthand)
• Whether to use "the" before product names
• Trademark/registration symbols (when required)

Inclusive language guidance:

• Gender-neutral defaults (they/them for unknown individuals)
• Person-first language preferences
• Terms to avoid and their replacements

Jargon management:

• Terms the audience understands without explanation
• Jargon that should always be replaced with plain language
• Acronyms that need spelling out on first use

Competitor and category terms:

• Preferred category framing (how you name what you do)
• How to refer to competitors (by name or generically)
• Terms competitors have coined that you should avoid

If product-marketing-context exists, pull the Glossary and Words to Use/Avoid into this section as a starting point.

7. Audience-Specific Voice Notes#

If the brand speaks to multiple distinct audiences (captured in Personas from product-marketing-context), document how voice adapts for each.

For each audience:

• What they care about (pull from personas)
• Expertise level (what you can assume they know)
• How they expect to be addressed
• Key voice adjustments (more technical? more empathetic? more formal?)

Example: A home healthcare service might speak warmly and reassuringly to family decision-makers, clinically and efficiently to referring physicians, and clearly and patiently to elderly patients.

---

Step 3: Create the Document#

After gathering information, create .agents/brand-voice-guide.md with this structure:

markdown

# Brand Voice Guide

*Last updated: [date]*

## Brand Personality
**Character sketch:**
> [2-3 sentence description]

**Defining traits:** [3-5 adjectives]
**We are NOT:** [what the brand is not]

## Voice Attributes

### [Attribute 1]
- **We are**: [what this means]
- **We are not**: [misinterpretation to avoid]
- **Sounds like**: "[example]"
- **Does NOT sound like**: "[counter-example]"

### [Attribute 2]
[same format]

### [Attribute 3]
[same format]

## Core Messaging Pillars

| Priority | Pillar | Why it matters | How it shows up |
|----------|--------|---------------|-----------------|
| 1 | | | |
| 2 | | | |
| 3 | | | |

## Tone Spectrum

**Principle:** Voice stays constant. Tone dials up or down by context.

### By Channel
| Channel | Tone | Example |
|---------|------|---------|
| | | |

### By Situation
| Situation | Tone |
|-----------|------|
| | |

## Style Rules

### Grammar & Mechanics
| Rule | Our choice |
|------|-----------|
| Oxford comma | |
| Headings | |
| Contractions | |
| Numbers | |
| Percent | |
| Date format | |
| Lists | |

### Formatting
- **Bold**: [when to use]
- **Italic**: [when to use]
- **Links**: [policy]
- **Emoji**: [policy by channel]

### Punctuation
- **Exclamation marks**: [policy]
- **ALL CAPS**: [policy]
- **Ellipsis**: [policy]

## Terminology

### Preferred Terms
| Use This | Not This | Notes |
|----------|----------|-------|
| | | |

### Product Names
| Name | Capitalization | Shorthand | Notes |
|------|---------------|-----------|-------|
| | | | |

### Inclusive Language
[guidelines]

### Jargon Guide
| Term | Audience knows it? | Action |
|------|-------------------|--------|
| | Yes / No | Use freely / Define / Replace with... |

### Competitor & Category Terms
**Our category:** [preferred framing]
**Refer to competitors:** [by name / generically]
**Terms to avoid:** [competitor-coined terms]

## Audience-Specific Notes

### [Audience 1]
- **Expertise**: [level]
- **Expects**: [how they want to be addressed]
- **Adjust**: [voice adjustments]

### [Audience 2]
[same format]

---

Step 4: Confirm and Save#

• Show the completed document
• Ask if anything needs adjustment
• Save to .agents/brand-voice-guide.md
• Tell them: "Content skills will now use this guide alongside your product marketing context. Run /brand-voice anytime to update it."

---

Tips#

• Start with personality: The character sketch anchors everything else. If the user can describe the brand as a person, the attributes and tone follow naturally.
• Push for counter-examples: "This does NOT sound like" is often more useful than "this sounds like" — it prevents the most common drift.
• Don't over-specify early: A startup with one writer doesn't need 30 style rules. Capture what matters now and mark the rest "[to revisit]."
• Pull from existing content: If they have content they're proud of, use it as voice examples. If they have content they hate, use it as counter-examples.
• Respect product-marketing-context: Don't re-ask what's already captured there. Build on it.
• Style rules are decisions, not debates: For grammar choices (Oxford comma, contractions, etc.), present options, help them choose, and move on. These aren't strategic — they just need to be consistent.