How to control the tone of your writing

How can I change the tone of my writing?

Tone is controlled by the way that we describe things, the adjectives we use, and the emphasis we put on our sentences.

Think of the emotion that you are trying to convey, and think of the first words that come to mind.

In the example of the parent excited about their child party, excitement is the mood we are trying to convey, so what words and phrases help deliver that? The following two lists showcase how you can say the same thing but in different tone. The first list shows excitement, the second shows level, emotionless speech.

Excited

• We can’t wait to see Jimmy at SITE next week for his birthday.
• That is so great that you have chosen SITE for your birthday party.
• We will make sure that Jimmy and his friends are frothing the whole session

Flat

• We will see you next week for Jimmy’s birthday at SITE.
• Thanks for choosing SITE for your birthday party.
• We hope Jimmy and his friends have fun.

Key points to focus on

• Don’t over-exaggerate the tone
  • ie) We are so so excited to have Jimmy at SITE for his birthday! We are absolutely frothing to have him here, we’re going to make sure Jimmy and all his mates are sending it!!
• Don’t use exclamation points.
• Use simple language
• Think of how you would speak to someone face to face in the conversation – try to match that vocabulary.