Brilliant Basics: Transforming Council communications through tone of voice

21 November 2025

The Transformation Team has been working with colleagues and residents to implement new Tone of Voice Guidance linked to the Brilliant Basics.

Formal Tone of Voice Guidance was introduced in the summer to help all departments communicate more effectively with citizens.

A Tone of Voice is much more than the words we use; it’s how we say them. It’s about the personality and attitude conveyed through our communication. Our Tone of Voice shapes how we talk with our residents, partners, and colleagues, and it influences the way our messages are perceived and understood. 

Tone of Voice guidelines should be applied whenever we create, modify, or review communications. Whether writing an email, updating our website, producing leaflets, or posting on social media, these guidelines ensure consistency and clarity across all interactions.

These principles are an integral part of our "Brilliant Basics" workstream, a programme designed to deliver a better experience for our residents by focusing on the essentials that make a difference. By embracing a clear and consistent Tone of Voice, we aim to foster trust, build stronger connections, and make it easier for people to understand and access the services they need. 

The way we communicate matters, and our Tone of Voice will help us speak in a way that reflects our core values – Open, Together, Ambitious, Proud. 

Tone of Voice guidance is about:

• The use of positive and inclusive language
• Expressing messages simply.
• Avoiding jargon and technical terminology.
• Writing in an informal personable style.
• Clearly recognising and valuing customer feedback.

The goal is also to present the Council as:

• Friendly and compassionate.
• Honest and open.
• Open minded.
• Realistic and reliable.
• Patient, approachable and personable.
• Consistent.
• Impartial.

Recently, Workshops were held with staff and Vale Foodbank users to discuss what this guidance meant for methods of communication, what changes needed to be made and how these could be implemented.

The sessions played an important role in testing approaches, with communications refined and adjusted based on feedback.

They also helped develop an AI prompt that can be used with ChatGPT and Microsoft Copilot.

That is a set of instructions that allows those programmes to produce communications in line with tone of voice objectives.

Trainee Transformation Partner Maddy Carver said: “This work involves thinking about what kind of communication you would want to receive.

“We want to treat residents with kindness and respect so we discussed how this could be reflected in correspondence.

“We also want people to easily understand what we are sending them so we can communicate more effectively.

“There have also been examples of people getting sent the same information by different departments.

“By implementing tone of voice guidance across the Council, we can cut down on duplication and reduce confusion among residents.

“This in turn will lead to less paper waste, fewer call to our contact centre and the organisation operating more efficiently.”

Tone of voice work is closely connected to the Brilliant Basics, principles that all staff should have in mind when carrying out their work.

Those tenets are about getting the fundamentals – like communicating with residents – right first time, every time.

The Brilliant Basics Charter, which launched recently, links to Vale 2030, our new Corporate Plan, and specifically one objective contained within it - to be the best council that we can be.

That means delivering the optimum service to our residents, but also having processes that are streamlined, efficient and effective.

The session with Foodbank users prompted a really positive response.

One workshop participant wrote: “Thank you so much for sending over the letters this morning. We had a really productive review of them…

“There is one bit of feedback I will share with you straight off, and that was the fact we were all really impressed to have been asked. The general feeling in the room before the exercise was that all participants started out with a very negative view of the Council. By the end of the exercise, they all said that they felt the council were doing a really good thing by road testing their standard letter with people who were likely to be receiving them.”

Work around tone of voice is now helping Council Tax colleagues improve their email and letter communication.

The online form for garden waste subscriptions has been refreshed with clearer language, making it easier for residents to sign-up and pay.

And the telecare application process is now more straightforward following the introduction of a more concise and accessible online form.

Next, the Transformation Team will be working with Housing and Benefits colleagues to help being tone of voice principles to their work.