Developing Your Writing Voice in Business Communications
- Scriptorium Team
- Mar 12
- 4 min read
A common question is what is a writing voice?
Think of it as how you speak. Your tone, your use of words, and even how you accentuate your speech (do you get louder when excited? Do you pause when you’re trying to make a point?). All these areas encompass how you portray yourself to the world and exemplify your voice.
Your writing voice is very similar. This voice is determined through your choice of words and your use of punctuation and grammar, which changes depending on who you’re writing to.
Before you begin to develop your writing voice, consider the following key points:
Your purpose/message
Your audience
Your means
When you’ve identified these, you can start to develop your writing voice.
Communication Purpose/Message
What are you trying to say, and how important is it? Are you just informing your audience, or do you need them to take action?
Your writing voice dictates how you will present your message. If you need sudden action, using short sentences—and, at times, all capitalization, bolding words, or using exclamation marks—can draw your audience's attention to what needs to be done.
For example:
NOTICE: The Christmas party has been POSTPONED to January 25th.
CAUTION: Hot water only!
If your purpose is to inform, keep your sentences short and formal. You want to make sure that the message provides all the information your audience needs, quickly. Using short sentences also helps your audience remember the message.
Audience & Means
Your audience determines your voice, while your means dictate how you will present your voice.
Internal Audience – Coworkers
Say you’re writing an email (your means) to coworkers that you know well. You may use informal language (slang); different forms of punctuation, such as quotation marks (sarcasm) or italics (insinuating) to emphasize your point; and short or long sentences, depending on the topic.
For example:
Evelyn!
The espresso machine is broken again! Meet me at the lobby in 10?
Internal Audience – Management
If you’re writing an email (your means) to management, your writing voice will no doubt change. Your tone becomes formal. You may use basic punctuation, and your sentences will be short as those in management positions are usually on a time crunch.
For example,
Hi Mallory,
Please be advised that the espresso machine is broken in department 12A.
We have contacted a repair company to fix the issue.
Please refer to the attachment for the quote of service.
If within our budget, please confirm that we can move ahead with this repair.
Best,
June
External Audience
External communication can be tricky because more often than not, you’ll be using a variety of means to get your purpose/message across. An example is if you need to address clients on an upcoming change in their services. You may need to use three to four means, such as a letter (if your clients accept this route), email, social media, and your website. Though each means is different, your writing voice should remain the same.
As some organizations have brand guidelines, your writing voice will change to reflect your organization's voice. You may have a more relaxed tone in writing to your clients, or you might stay formal. Again, this is determined by your communication/marketing department. However, you can still use short sentences to allow your clients to digest the information, as you want to answer their questions before they ask. Providing short, detailed sentences, along with basic punctuation, will help deliver your message while maintaining your organization's voice. The use of bolding in a sentence is also common to indicate any important changes.
For example, a formal voice will maintain professionalism while keeping the information concise, so the audience knows exactly what is happening.
For example:
Dear valued customer,
It has come to our attention that on May 16th, a water main valve broke at 12:00 midnight.
Please be advised that your water services are not available for the remainder of the week until the repair is addressed.
We will continue to monitor the situation and inform you of all updates on the repair, as well as when your water has been treated and cleared to drink.
For local water delivery service, please refer to the Town’s Public Works website at www.townspublicworks.ca or contact us at 955-555-5555.
Sincerely,
Public Works
If an organization has a less formal approach to their customers, they may address a situation using slang or humour.
For example,
To our favourite people,
We hate to admit it, but we were wrong! Our last email contained the wrong information about our sale. It’s not starting this week, but NEXT week.
In honour of our favourite customers (and our mistake), we’re offering a 15% off code for all purchases made this week as our way of saying sorry.
Use the code Whoops15% at checkout.
Love to all!
Developing your writing voice may seem tedious, but by using specific techniques and remembering the three key points of purpose/message, audience, and means, your writing voice will develop quickly.
Having issues developing your organization’s voice? Or need to get your team members familiar with your branding guidelines/style guides? Contact Scriptorium! Our writers, editors, and instructors can help guide your business into a consistent communication strategy.
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References:
Business Book Awards. (16 September 2025). Find Your Signature Style: 5 Tips to Develop a Unique Voice in Business Writing. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://axiomawards.com/blog/find-your-signature-style-5-tips-to-develop-a-unique-voice-in-business-writing
BDC. (2 October 2022). 10 tips for effective business writing. Accessed December 17, 2025. https://www.bdc.ca/en/articles-tools/entrepreneurial-skills/become-better-communicator/10-tips-effective-business-writing
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