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The Important Use Of Tone In Business Writing

Amy Johnson
Salt Lake Community College

THE IMPORTANT USE OF TONE IN BUSINESS WRITING

The Important Use of Tone in Business Writing

One of the most overlooked tools in business writing is use of tone. Tone, in business
writing, can be elusive to writers that immediately will turn the reader on or off. It is easy to
convey a statement to someone in person and have them understand your true meaning by
picking up on physical cues that are given. In writing, especially in a business format, it is much
more difficult to convey the same type of content and happy tone that can easily be conveyed
with a smile while talking face to face.
First the author will describe what tone is and the important use of tone in business
writing. Then the author will discuss some of the pitfalls many writers fall victim to in their
writing while using tone. Last the author will provide some solutions on how to properly use
tone for effective business communication.
Tone in Business Writing
The most popular form of contact in the business world is writing. Whether it be an email
to a colleague, a memorandum to the staff, or a power point presentation to a potential client,
writing is a business necessity. Richard Bierck (2003) states that, One of the most important
steps in writing is matching the tone of the piece to the occasion and the audience. (Bierck
18). Audience and purpose are two key elements of effective writing taught to professionals.
Unfortunately the use of tone is often overlooked.
Leon F. Kenman (2007) stresses that, Communicators in business as well as academia at
all levels need to send messages that are understood pleasantly and effortlessly. (Kenman, 305).
There are two general schools of thought when tone is being described. The first is you-attitude,
which assists the writer in establishing the audience and how the reader will perceive the
message. The second school of thought is using positive language.

THE IMPORTANT USE OF TONE IN BUSINESS WRITING

Kenman (2007) refers to these schools of thought as Tone and Style. He uses tone to refer
to you-attitude as being polite, friendly, and positivity. He describes style as including an active
voice, personal constructions, conversational register and succinctness. (Kenman, 306). The tone
of a memorandum to subordinate staff will have a different tone than a power point presentation
to a potential client. Tone can vary greatly depending on the company for which you are
presenting a written document.
Pitfalls of Tone in Writing
One mistake that is made often by unseasoned business people is verifying that the tone
of their document matches the audience and purpose of the writing. Using spelling and grammar
checks are a wonderful tool in Microsoft Word that help a writer to verify that the document is
free from mistakes, however these tools cannot assist with the tone of a document. Diana S.
Russo (2002) shares that many of her corporate business writing workshop students have
difficulty abandoning the official-sounding voice while maintaining a professional persona.
(Russo, 115).
Russo (2002) shares Walker Gibsons paradigm of pitfalls; a tough talker is concerned
with self rather than the audience causing the reader to feel pushed around. The sweet talker is
concerned with jumping into the lap of a reader, and provides feelings of knowing who the
reader is and what they need. The stuffy talker or voice of an institution is focused on content so
much that they forget altogether they are talking with a person. Finding the balance of
appropriate tone can be very challenging.
Bierck (2003) expresses that informal language that uses everyday colloquialisms runs
the risk of using the slang of popular culture. Although this may be an appropriate way to

THE IMPORTANT USE OF TONE IN BUSINESS WRITING

communicate in a memorandum at a skate shop, twenty years from now, readers may have
difficulty understanding the meaning. (Bierck, 18).
When using strong adjectives and combat metaphors to communicate urgency, these
strong and vivid images can infuriate or incite readers. On the other side of the extreme if you
convey less energy and urgency in the words chosen it may be harder for a reader to discern the
seriousness of the message being conveyed.
Many business professionals agree that the tone in writing can help or harm the business.
Take for example the executive that Daphne A. Jameson (2009) worked with. This executive
received a sharply worded complaint from an important customer about the service received. The
executive became defensive about his staff being falsely accused and hotly writes back to the
customer denying the problem existed. He then threw in counter complaints about the client and
their staff and never acknowledged the customers feelings. The executives desire to defend his
company and staff resulted in losing a valuable client. (Jameson, 336). This story appears to be
an obvious way of how not to write to a customer, however defensiveness is a common tone that
becomes a pitfall in writing.
Clearly it is far easier for a business person to successfully gauge an audience, to use the
most appropriate tone, while meeting face to face with someone. However it takes a lot more
thought and process to appropriately gauge the use of tone with an audience in writing.
Tools to Better Use Tone in Writing
Russo (2002) discusses, Walker Gibsons 1966 book, Tough, Sweet, and Stuffy as
providing a way of analyzing tone that addresses the issue of balance by demonstrating how we
actively resist and talk back to the voices we hear as we read. (Russo, 114). Russos teachings
based on Gibsons theories have helped many of her students to effectively gauge appropriate

THE IMPORTANT USE OF TONE IN BUSINESS WRITING

tone for the business piece they are writing by placing a space after every line of writing. In this
space you as the reader will respond back to the passage you just read as if you are talking to the
writer directly. (Russo, 117). This exercise allows the writer to put themselves in the shoes of the
reader to better gauge the message they are portraying.
Bierck (2003) shares that in order to have an appropriate tone in every circumstance, two
attributes need to be monitored carefully. Those attributes are energy level and degree of
formality. A good way to measure the energy in a piece of writing is to ask yourself, How hot or
cool should this memo be? The extremes on the thermometer will help provide a range of
possible choices. Formality depends on the occasion and predilections, or character of the
company. (Bierck, 18). One of the most challenging business writing skills can be the dreaded
customer complaint.
In responding to a possible volatile customer complaint, Jameson (2009) describes that
the best way to reduce a readers defensiveness is for a writer to use a tone that (a) describes an
issue, situation, or problem factually, (b) collaborates with others by using a problem orientation
approach, (c) is spontaneous, straightforward, and provides honest responses, (d) is personal by
empathizing, and acknowledging the customers feelings, (e) expresses equality, and (f) states
opinions that are subject to provisionally change upon new information received. (Jameson,
336). Using these tools can help to deflate the defensive tone on the writers behalf as well as the
readers perception of the response.
The use of tone in business writing can be extremely challenging for any business person.
Using the tools outlined above will give the writer a concrete system to assess their tone in any
piece written. Awareness of the pitfalls is the first step in fighting the resistance to tone related

THE IMPORTANT USE OF TONE IN BUSINESS WRITING

concepts. These tools will help increase the sensitivity to your readers perspective as well as
providing a higher quality of writing in business communication.

THE IMPORTANT USE OF TONE IN BUSINESS WRITING

References
Bierck, R. (2003). Find The Right Tone For Your Business Writing. Public Relations Tactics,
10(2), 18.
Driscoll, D. L. (2010, Apr. 21). Tone In Business Writing. Retrieved from
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/652/1/
Jameson D. A. (2009). MANAGEMENT CONSULTING AND TEACHING: LESSONS
LEARNED TEACHING PROFESSIONALS TO CONTROL TONE IN
WRITING. Business Communication Quarterly, 72(3), 333-338.
Kenman, L.F. (2007). Tone and Style: Developing a Neglected Segment of Business
Communication. Business Communication Quarterly, 70(3), 305-309.
Russo, D. S. (2002). Talking Back with Walker Gibson: Helping Students Gauge Tone. Business
Communication Quarterly, 65(4), 114-122.