Written by Olga Procevska, co-founder of Writitude
One of the most sought-after features that communication brands are looking for is self-confidence.
Especially if you are in the premium market or aspiring to enter it, you need to sound bold, assertive, and 100% confident about your product or service.
But what exactly makes a text sound assertive? And what subtle details can reveal a lack of confidence?
Understanding Assertiveness and Self-Confidence in Text
Assertiveness and self-confidence in writing involve striking the right balance between being direct and respectful, clear yet engaging.
It’s about conveying your message in a way that exudes authority and reliability without appearing aggressive or arrogant. Self-confidence is built through careful word choice, sentence structure, and overall style.
Here are key elements that contribute to assertive and self-confident text:
Be clear and bold
Assertive text leaves no room for ambiguity. Clarity ensures that your audience immediately understands your message without confusion.
To achieve this, use precise language that conveys your point directly and effectively. Avoid unnecessary jargon that can alienate or confuse your audience, and skip long, empty introductions that delay the core message.
Instead, get straight to the point, ensuring every word serves a purpose and contributes to the overall message.
This approach makes your communication more impactful and demonstrates confidence in what you are conveying.
Don’t shy away from using strong terms like "the best" or "the most sought-after." Such language makes a powerful impression on the audience and helps establish the brand as a leader in its industry.
If your product is the best out there, just say it. Strong statements assert a brand's unique value proposition and inspire trust and loyalty.
Add these Writitude rules to your custom tone of voice guide to boost confidence of your texts:
- Require the use of "absolute" language and superlatives
- Require writing in a confident tone
Eliminate clutter
Brevity in text is crucial for conveying confidence and authority. Eliminate unnecessary words and ensure that every sentence carries weight and purpose. When a message is brief, it projects decisiveness and clarity.
Clutter in texts includes reducing the use of prepositions, which can add unnecessary complexity to sentences. Fewer prepositions make brand messages clearer and more concise.
By focusing on straightforward language, your communication becomes more effective and easier for the audience to understand.
This simplification not only enhances clarity but also keeps the reader's attention on the core message.
Similarly, while adverbs can add emphasis, they sometimes come across as subjective or insincere. Crafting messages with fewer adverbs and more specific adjectives helps a brand stand out.
This approach ensures that your communication remains impactful and trustworthy, reinforcing the brand's credibility and making the message more memorable.
Additionally, avoiding noun strings (using three or more nouns in a row) helps create a dynamic and accessible image. Simplifying noun structures enhances clarity and keeps the audience engaged.
By eliminating these complexities, your brand communication becomes more direct and easier to understand, fostering a stronger connection with your audience.
Add these Writitude rules to your custom tone of voice guide to boost confidence of your texts:
- Minimize the use of pronouns
- Minimize the use of transition words
- Limit the use of "there is"
- Minimize the use of prepositions
- Limit the use of adverbs
- Forbid noun strings
List of over 100 style and tone rules in Writitude
Speak in active voice
Using the active voice makes your sentences more direct and powerful. It positions your brand as the doer, the one in control, which inherently sounds more confident.
For example, "We launched the new feature" sounds more assertive than "The new feature was launched." Passive voice can come across as hesitant or uncertain, whereas rewriting sentences in active voice makes texts more engaging, confident, and clear.
This technique not only streamlines communication but also reinforces a proactive and dynamic brand identity, making it easier for the audience to connect with and trust the brand's initiatives and statements.
In addition to using the active voice, variety in sentence lengths naturally enhances the rhythm of text, making it more enjoyable to read.
Short sentences highlight key points or calls to action, grabbing the reader's attention and emphasizing important information.
Conversely, longer sentences offer detailed descriptions and vivid imagery, providing depth and context.
Combining an active voice with varied sentence lengths makes texts more engaging and persuasive.
Add these Writitude rules to your custom tone of voice guide to boost confidence of your texts:
- Forbid the passive voice
- Vary sentence length
Use strong verbs and action words
Strong verbs convey action and decisiveness, demonstrating that your brand is proactive and capable.
Choosing words like "achieve," "implement," "drive," and "deliver" communicates a sense of purpose and determination, whereas weaker verbs like "try," "think," or "hope" can undermine the strength of your message.
Emphasizing powerful verbs creates action-oriented communication that is dynamic and compelling, making it easier for audiences to respond positively.
Using action verbs focuses on what a company does or what its product can do, rather than merely stating characteristics. This approach shifts the narrative from passive descriptions to active demonstrations of value and capability.
By highlighting actions, you make your communication more engaging and impactful, which can enhance the audience's perception of your brand.
Prioritizing strong, active verbs ensures that your messages are not only more dynamic but also resonate with authority and confidence.
Add these Writitude rules to your custom tone of voice guide to boost confidence of your texts:
- Adjust ratio of verbs to nouns and adjectives
- Require more action verbs and fewer "be" verbs
Avoid hedging language
When your brand communicates with conviction, it instills confidence in your audience.
For example, replacing "We think this could work" with "We know this will work" conveys a stronger, more assured stance.
This shift from tentative to assertive language helps reinforce your brand's reliability and expertise.
Hedging language, such as using words like "might," "possibly," or "somewhat," can make your brand appear unsure and undermine its authority.
By avoiding these hedge words, your communication becomes more direct and confident. This clarity enhances the overall impact of your message, demonstrating that your brand is both knowledgeable and decisive.
Eliminating hedging language not only strengthens your brand's communication but also projects a more authoritative and trustworthy image.
Add this Writitude rule to your custom tone of voice guide to boost confidence of your texts:
- Forbid words or phrases that come across as unconfident
List of over 100 style and tone rules you can automate with Writitude
Avoid cheap thrills
Want your brand's text to exude confidence? Ditch the marketing clichés. These overused phrases make your communication sound generic. Instead, craft a distinct voice that sets you apart from the competition.
This strategy grabs attention and showcases real creativity.
You will also need to keep emojis in check. Overusing them can damage your brand’s professionalism. A limited use of emojis maintains a serious, business-oriented tone, boosting your credibility.
Similarly, use exclamation marks sparingly. While they add excitement, too many can seem unprofessional. A balanced use keeps your communication enthusiastic yet credible. Avoid overusing ellipses.
They can make your messages sound too casual and are often perceived by the audience as signs of doubt.
Add these Writitude rules to your custom tone of voice guide to boost confidence of your texts:
- Forbid words regarded as marketing clichés
- Limit the use of emojis
- Control the use of exclamation marks
- Limit the use of ellipses
Don’t overdo it
Assertiveness is often misunderstood as aggression, but the two are quite different. Being assertive means expressing your thoughts and needs clearly and confidently without stepping on others' (such as your competitors) toes.
This distinction is crucial for maintaining a respectful and professional tone in your brand's communication.
Using aggressive language can alienate your audience and damage your brand's reputation. Instead, focus on minimizing harsh words and phrases to foster a more positive and engaging interaction.
Add this Writitude rule to your custom tone of voice guide to boost confidence of your texts:
- Forbid words or phrases that may come across as aggressive
To sum it up:
Brands that want to communicate with self-confidence, need to watch for many aspects of their communication.
This involves using precise language, avoiding unnecessary jargon, and being concise, which projects decisiveness and clarity. Simplifying noun structures, reducing prepositions and adverbs, and using the active voice make texts more direct and powerful.
Varied sentence lengths enhance readability, while strong verbs convey action and decisiveness, making the message dynamic and compelling.
Avoiding hedging language and marketing clichés preserves authority and prevents the message from sounding generic.
Limited use of emojis, exclamation marks, and ellipses maintains professionalism and credibility.
Assertiveness means expressing thoughts clearly and confidently without alienating the audience, and minimizing harsh words fosters positive interactions, enhancing the brand’s image.
By following these guidelines, brands can create a distinctive, professional voice that instills confidence and trust in their audience. However, such a high level of self-control can only be achieved with brand tone of voice automation.
If you are still using a brand book that is on paper, in a PDF, or just in your head, join Writitude free now to automate your tone of voice guidelines and achieve a new level of confidence.
