Communication

Written communication

  • British English
    We use British English for all written documentation.
  • Sentence style titles
    We write titles in sentence style, means we avoid capitalisation (aka title case).

Note

For the internal written communication, we’re using Mattermost.

Brand name

Our brand name is «confirm IT». Follow these rules to keep the appearance of our brand consistent:

✅ Do

  • Write out always the whole brand name «confirm IT»

  • The “c” is always written in lower-case, even at the beginning of a sentence

❌ Don’t

  • Don’t abbreviate to something like confirm or confirm IT

  • Don’t write Confirm IT with a uppercase “c”. Never.

Tone of voice

Our “tone of voice” includes a few core elements to standardise our communication across all platforms. It is authentic, direct, cooperative, and understandable.

  • Direct
    Straight to the point. No poetry, just transparent and honest what and why we are doing it.
  • Understandable
    Clear, uncomplicated, and to the point. Focus on the statement.
  • Sovereign
    Credible and experienced, although mostly informal.

Application tips

Stay factual and transparent
Is the core message clear? Is the reason for a statement clear? Can you prove the statement?
Choose clear words
Watch out for complicated words and jargon. Choose understandable terms and avoid long sentences and nesting. We are experts and can make difficult things look easy.
Speak only the truth
Avoid guesswork and assumptions. Make sure to back up your statements. If there are examples, all the better.
Use active instead of passive speech

In active language, the subject acts, in passive language, the action happens to the subject.

Testing

If you are not sure whether it is active or passive speech, you can add «by monkeys». If the sentence still makes sense, it is a passive sentence.

Passive: You have been logged in. … by monkeys
Active: You have logged in. … by monkeys
Swap formal words with normal ones

We are friendly people and not a cold, faceless organization. That's why we write the way we speak to people.

Testing

You can test this by reading aloud what you have written. Does that sound like something you would say?

  • assistance → help

  • set in motion → begin

  • make available → give

  • request → ask

  • use → need

Make negative statements positive

no shipping fees → free shipping.

Restrict exclamation points

Choose more words to describe emotions instead of relying on punctuation.

Check the adjectives

Are they all necessary? Would a more specific noun be a better choice?

Be precise

Use short words and sentences, avoid superfluous and irrelevant.

Use only common abbreviations and acronyms

Avoid abbreviations and acronyms to minimize misunderstandings. Otherwise, mention the abbreviation in parentheses the first time you use it such as Continuous Integration (CI). Except for abbreviations and acronyms that are generally valid and known, such as API or HTML.

Use contractions in English text

Use contractions in the English language. They're great! They give your writing an informal, friendly tone.

Use more verbs than nouns

To sound more professional, we prefer nouns over verbs in written language. When we speak, it's vice-versa and we prefer more verbs. Nouns are generally considered more stylish and professional, but they also make sentences long.

Examples

We wouldn’t speak like that. e.g.:

  • "We made the decision that" vs. "We decided"

  • "We did an analysis" vs. "We analyzed"

Structure sections with subtitles

Content is often only skimmed over. Good subtitles give an overview of the following section, and pick up the main message of it without describing all the details.

Story telling

Identify what you want to communicate
Stick to what you really want to communicate. Don't add extra words just to sound more intelligent.
Communicate the «why» first, not the «how» or «what»

When communicating the «why», you automatically communicate emotions and inspire people.

Golden Circle

Have a look at Simon Sinek’s “How great leaders inspire action” Ted talk for more informations.

Describe benefits over functions

Communicating over benefits is more emotional and people can identify themselves with it.

Examples

"Cut your reporting time in half" vs. "Add automated export button"

Describe cause & effects first
First describe the purpose of your idea, only then describe how it works.
Open with a hook, not a summary

Don't describe what the piece is about. Open with a line that creates curiosity, tension, or emotion. The opener's job is to make people want the next sentence, not to summarise the content.

Examples

"For years, we kept quiet." vs. "This post explains our new marketing concept."

Discussion guidelines

Find common ground

Try to find common ground on which everyone can agree.

This will help identifying the common goal, as well as improve constructive criticism.

State your view and share relevant information

It is important that the team understands everyone's point of view and opinions, by focusing on factual information.

This will help to develop a comprehensive, common set of information.

Explain your reason and intent

Elaborate why you got to your point of view.

This will give people more context to understand your position.

Focus on solutions rather than positions

Don't argue about positions, but focus on identifying needs to solve a problem.

This increases the finding of a solution, and stops unproductive conflicts.

Be precise and care about terminology

Use the right words and agree on important terminology.

This reduces misunderstandings, since everyone uses the same words for the same meaning.

Be curious and ask genuine questions

If you're missing some information, or you don't understand something, ask questions.

This will help to improve understanding, and to uncover blind spots.

Discuss the undiscussable

Start discuss important but challenging topics which are avoided by the team.

This will ensure crucial topics won't prevent progress.

Test assumptions

Test your assumptions and inferences by using mental frameworks.

This will to make decisions based on valid information and facts.

Good headlines

Keep it short, at most 10 words or 70 characters

Respect the reader's time and earn the click with just enough: say less, mean more, without giving away the payoff.

To prevent search engines from cutting them off, keep it under 70 characters. The ideal size is between 55 and 65 characters.

Use title recipes that grab attention
  • Flip the expected cause: "Why X Isn't Y" (e.g. "Why your CRM isn't the problem")
  • Put a number on the stakes: Attach CHF, time, or risk (e.g. "The CHF 50k question nobody asks")
  • Debunk a common belief: "Stop believing X" or "X Is a Myth. Here's what actually matters"
  • Ask a pointed question: "Who actually owns the Cloud decision: The IT or the Board?"

Context

Give the title more context in the lede (first paragraph), esp. if you've a controverisal title.

Use keywords and interesting adjectives

Words like "fun", "effortless", "unique", "incredible", "essential", "strange", "painstaking", and "absolute" engage readers more than more mundane language

Inspiration

Check the following links with power words for inspiration:

Include "you" and "your"

This makes your headline more effective since it speaks to your readers’ concerns and seems more like a real conversation.

Brainstorm at least five headlines for any given post

Here are some sample headline exercises to help you create a title:

  • A question-based headline
  • A how-to headline
  • A short headline (~60 characters)
  • A longer headline (80 – 100 characters)
  • A headline based around a power word or phrase
Check the headline with an analyser tool

These tools can help you evaluate the headline quality:

Run the decision-maker test before publishing

Would a decision-maker stop scrolling? If the headline only makes a techie nod, rewrite it.

Publications

We’re all about sharing content that brings real value – and great content takes time. That’s why we only publish when we’re crystal clear on what we want to say, how to say it, and we’ve made sure it hits the mark.