# Tone of Voice ## **Brand voice** The heroic poet ## **Principles to live by** **WWJFKD**… How would JFK (or any rousing orator) say it? Staccato. Strong. Rousing. Ever-so-slightly wordy. We like eloquence; to talk around something (but not to the point where it’s unclear). (And yes, this often means we use a few too many words.) It’s a balancing act of trying to maintain clarity while still trying to sound like “us.” * **Giving** → stewarding well the resources God has entrusted to us * **Being baptized** → taking the next step of obedience to Christ by being baptized **Abandon all adjectives ye who enter here.** Adjectives add unnecessary fluff. We’re poetic, but not fluffy. There’s a difference **On humor**… we are witty, not punny, and never crass. Think everyday intellectual–intelligent enough to spot humor, but always wants everyone to be “in on the joke.” **Avoid Christian-ese.** While we want our words to be biblically sound, we never want to create a barrier for those less familiar with “church” culture. We strive to bridge the gap are wary of phrases or words that don’t hold meaning for or aren’t relevant to people that are newer to the faith. Illegal words or phrases include (but are not limited to)… * Love on * Hedge of protection * Unpack, piggyback, backburner * The overuse of the word “just”… as in “Lord, we just pray…” * Careful with complex ideas or terms like salvation, sin, justification, etc. Make sure you are putting them in terms non-Christians can understand. ## **Watermark It!** Sample phrases | **Original** | **Rewrite** | | ----------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------- | | "We're really excited you're here." | "We're honored you have entrusted us with your time today." | --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://spacetime.gitbook.io/watermark-org/vision/tone-of-voice.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.