Ep. 47 - The Difference Between Voice and Tone with AprilJo Murphy

Hi there folks!

Creatives Meet Business is an event and podcast series based out of Austin, Texas for artists, creatives, freelancers, and solopreneurs to learn the ropes of entrepreneurship.

This episode features AprilJo Murphy, Editor at Greenleaf Book Group, who joined us in April during our roundtable event on Telling Your Brand Story. She shares all about the difference between Voice and Tone, how to create a Brand Voice and the emotional intelligence behind Tone. Without further ado, let's hop in and hear what AprilJo has to say!

Notes:

• 0:00 to 1:46 - Ashland Opening Remarks and Intro of AprilJo Murphy
• 1:47 to 5:32 - Introduction of Self and Topic
  
  • Establish a voice and think about how your tone can modulate
  • Voice and tone are separate, tone falls under the umbrella of voice
  • Voice is all of the communication you have with all the people inside and outside of your company (email, memo, blog, tweet, logo - it's visual and textual)
  • Even if you are a one-person company, your brand voice is not your personal voice. It will make your brand voice more effective if you think about it as a separate entity
  • Think about brand voice as something you can step in and out of
  • You can create brand guidelines for others to share the voice of your company
• 5:33 to 11:40 - Why You Want to Separate Your Brand Voice from Your Personal Voice and How to Find Your Brand Voice
  • It will focus your efforts and allow for you to have quality control
  • It will become a recruiting tool for you
  • Notice patterns you use in communications/content as part of your brand voice
  • Analyze communication that was successful so you can emulate it again
  • Think about the brand voice you want to have
  • Identify three or four characteristics (adjectives) of your company (i.e. we are friendly, authentic, humanitarian)
    • What do these mean to you and your client in your particular situation
  • Handout 1 (attached below) Overview and Discussion
    • Conversational as a buzzword with an example
    • Human touch in example is what she means for tone
• 11:41 to 19:42 - Tone Defined
  • Think about emotional intelligence
  • Your voice is always consistent, but how you talk to someone in a specific situation is your tone and that will modulate
  • Because it modulates, it sounds human
  • Can be the words you choose, the metaphors you use
  • Comes across in design elements, examples are:
    • Don't F it Up
    • The Best Team Wins
    • The Business of You
  • Tone is where the emotional atmosphere of a situation lives, you can shape how people interact with you
  • Second and Third Handouts Discussed (Attached below)
    • How do you take a negative interaction and help it work for your company overall
• 19:43 to 21:38 - Ashland Closing Remarks
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  • Big thanks to Jamal Knox (audio engineer) and Chris James (composer)!

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More on Telling Your Brand Story to come, so stay tuned!

Thanks!

Ashland, Creatives Meet Business