Build a 3-Attribute Voice System for a Support Team

Marketing Academy · Field Work●Brand Strategy

MiniBuild the Asset· 25 minutes

PolicyBazaar (PB Fintech)

Objective: Draft 3 voice attributes, each with a label, a contrast statement, and an on-voice/off-voice example pair, for a real support-team scenario.

PolicyBazaar's support team has no documented voice guide, and agent replies range from overly formal to overly casual depending on who wrote them.

Define exactly 3 voice attributes for the support team, each actionable enough that a new agent could apply it to a real reply within 60 seconds.

Before you start

What you'll need

Free path (everything below is enough to finish)

Google Docs

FreeDraft attributes, contrast statements, and example pairs

Free, easy to share with the support team for testing

The process

1 step

Step 01 of 01

Defining voice attributes with label, contrast statement, and example pair

The lesson's Stage 2 requires exactly 3-5 attributes, each with a label, a 'we are X, not Y' contrast statement, and one off-voice/on-voice example pair covering the same idea.

Can you write a contrast statement for 'Direct' that actually tells an agent what NOT to do, not just what to do?

Google Docs— A shared Google Doc with one section per attribute.

Procedure

Pick 3 attributes that describe how support should sound (e.g. Direct, Reassuring, Plain)
Write a 'we are X, not Y' contrast statement for each
Write one real off-voice sentence and one on-voice sentence covering the same claim status update
Test each attribute by asking a colleague to edit a sample reply using only the label

Sample output

ATTRIBUTE: Direct
Contrast: We are direct, not blunt. We say what happened without hedging, but we never skip context the customer needs.
Off-voice: 'There may be a possibility your claim could potentially require further review.'
On-voice: 'Your claim needs one more document before we can approve it. Here's what to upload.'

Healthy

A colleague who was not involved in writing the attribute can apply it to a real reply within 60 seconds.

Unhealthy

The attribute is just an adjective ('Direct') with no contrast statement, so two writers interpret it in opposite directions.

What this means

An attribute without a contrast statement is decoration, not a usable rule; the contrast is where the actual guidance lives.

So what do I do about it?

Symptom	Action	Effort
A test writer cannot apply the attribute to a real reply in under 60 seconds	Rewrite the contrast statement to name the specific behavior it forbids, not just the behavior it wants	5 min

YouYou can do this yourself, no engineering access required.

Final deliverable

A 3-attribute voice mini-guide, each with a label, a contrast statement, and one off-voice/on-voice example pair drawn from a real support scenario.

See a reference example

Sample output

Robinhood Support, voice mini-guide (excerpt)

ATTRIBUTE: Calm
Contrast: We are calm, not clinical. We acknowledge the customer is worried about their money, but we never use jargon to sound official.
Off-voice: 'Your order execution has been flagged pending compliance verification.'
On-voice: 'We paused your order to double-check something on our end. It'll clear within an hour, no action needed from you.'

Success criteria

You're done when you can:

Exactly 3 attributes defined, no more
Every attribute has a label, a 'we are X, not Y' contrast statement, and an example pair
A test reader can apply at least one attribute to a real reply within 60 seconds