PM-201a · Module 3

Tone Specification

3 min read

"Professional but approachable" is not a tone specification. It is a feeling. Feelings are not specifications. "Formal register, third person, no contractions, Flesch-Kincaid reading level approximately 10, no humor, no colloquialisms" is a tone specification. It is measurable. It is testable. And it produces consistent outputs across multiple runs and multiple users.

Do This

Specify person: "Write in third person — no first-person pronouns"
Specify formality with measurable proxies: "No contractions, no colloquialisms, no humor"
Specify reading level when it matters: "Target 8th-grade reading level (Flesch-Kincaid)"
Specify hedging posture: "Make direct recommendations — do not use hedging language such as 'might,' 'could,' or 'may'"

Avoid This

Do not use "professional but approachable" — neither word is a specification
Do not use "conversational" alone — specify what conversational means in measurable terms
Do not use "friendly" — friendly reads differently for a B2B tech audience vs. a consumer brand
Do not leave tone entirely unspecified for any output that will be used externally

❌ Vague tone instruction:
"Write in a professional but approachable tone."

✅ Measurable tone specification:
[TONE]
- Register: formal
- Person: third — do not use "I," "we," "you," or "our"
- Contractions: none
- Hedging language: none — make direct declarative statements
- Reading level: approximately 10th grade (Flesch-Kincaid)
- Sentence length: prefer sentences under 25 words; never exceed 40
- Jargon: minimize — define any technical term on first use
- Humor: none

❌ Vague tone instruction:
"Keep it conversational."

✅ Decomposed specification:
[TONE]
- Person: second — address the reader directly as "you"
- Contractions: allowed and preferred
- Sentence length: short — under 20 words preferred
- Structure: use questions to introduce new points where natural
- Reading level: approximately 7th grade
- Formality: informal — colloquialisms acceptable if not regional