dragoon0x brand-voice-extraction
most teams have a voice. fewer teams have documented it. this skill turns 5-20 samples of existing copy into a voice guide that someone else can write in.
inputs
- 5-20 pieces of existing copy that the team agrees represents the voice well
- 2-5 pieces that the team agrees are off-voice (very useful, often skipped)
- optional: notes on the audience
the extraction pass
read everything before making claims. then go through these dimensions:
sentence rhythm
- average sentence length (count words, get a sense of the spread)
- shortest and longest sentences
- variation pattern (does the voice mix short and long, or does it stay in a band)
vocabulary range
- formal / casual / playful / clinical / academic
- specific words that appear repeatedly (these become signature vocabulary)
- words that should not appear (often visible by their absence)
point of view
- first person plural (we, our)
- first person singular (i)
- second person (you, your)
- third person (the company, customers)
note when the voice switches between these and why.
figurative range
- metaphors used, what domains they pull from
- analogies and how often
- humor: present? what kind? (dry / absurd / observational / self-deprecating)
structural patterns
- how openings work (questions / claims / scene-setting)
- how arguments are built (story-first / claim-first / data-first)
- how endings work (invitation / claim / quiet finish)
what's deliberately not there
- adverbs that add no information
- corporate filler ("delve", "leverage", "robust", "elevate", "seamless")
- exclamation points
- "we listened to your feedback"
- buzzwords specific to the industry
the voice guide structure
# [brand] voice guide
## the voice in one paragraph
how the brand sounds to a reader who's never heard of it before.
## the principles
3-5 short statements. each one a thing the voice does or doesn't do.
example: "we explain, we don't decorate" or "we never sound impressed with ourselves".
## sentence rhythm
average length: [N] words.
range: [shortest, longest].
pattern: [how length varies].
## vocabulary
register: [casual / professional / etc].
signature words: [list of 10-20].
banned words: [list, with the reason].
## point of view
default: [first person plural / second person / etc].
when it shifts: [rules].
## structural patterns
openings often: [pattern].
arguments often: [pattern].
endings often: [pattern].
## what's not there
[list of things the voice deliberately avoids].
## examples
### yes
[3-5 short excerpts of existing copy that nails the voice]
### no
[3-5 short excerpts that miss the voice, with notes on why]
## the test
a piece of writing matches the voice if a reader couldn't tell whether it came from the original samples or this new piece.
what not to do
- describe the voice with adjectives only ("friendly, professional, approachable" tells you nothing)
- invent rules that aren't supported by the samples
- write the voice you wish you had instead of the one you have
- skip the "no" examples (they often teach more than the yes examples)