Writing Style Guide

This guide is intended to help us keep Slab communication and content consistent, high-quality, and on-brand with the most important and impactful guidelines. A non-exhaustive list includes:

1. All public-facing content: Website, blog, help documentation
2. All candidate-facing content: Job descriptions, assignments, project briefs
3. Slab profiles on third-party properties: G2, LinkedIn, AngelList, integration partners

Because our userbase includes every department in the workplace, approachability is part of our brand values so our style will tend towards a casual tone. Personified, we want to be your most likable friend, not your cleverest. Many recommendations in this guide are subjective, but consistent use of language to convey a unified Slab voice is more important than perfection.

Be Clear

1. Use approachable language: "from now on" > "henceforth"
2. Avoid jargon and buzzwords. They are often ambiguous and both the jargon itself or the ambiguity created can distance readers.
3. Avoid hyperbole. If everything is "exceptional" or "game-changing" then likely nothing is.
4. Be careful with acronyms. We can't be expected to memorize a glossary.

Be Concise

Maximize information-to-words ratio. We have short attention spans.

1. Prefer shorter and simpler words and sentences. Research shows high-complexity sentences reduce reader comprehension and trust in the author.
2. For example, "utilize" can almost always be replaced with "use"
3. Use punctuation to split up complex sentences
4. Prefer fewer words over many equivalent ones
5. For example, "attract the very best talent" conveys the same meaning as "attract top talent"
6. Try an active verb over a descriptive action: "inspires" instead of "makes you feel motivated"
7. Avoid needless words: "This evidence convincingly proved…" Proof is already convincing.
8. Avoid filler words, commonly adverbs such as: basically, actually, generally, very, and just
9. Prefer active voice: "We will email you" > "You will get an email from us"
10. Avoid conditionals: "We recommend" > "We would recommend"
11. Avoid redundant phrases. For example, "I think" can usually be omitted since it can be assumed you believe what you are writing.

Be Consistent

1. Use American English spelling: organize > organise
2. Use contractions: don't > do not
3. Contractions convey a more casual tone
4. Adopt one style for headers and lists throughout a piece of writing. This ideally extends to all writing pieces of that kind.
5. In this post, I chose to capitalize headers and only use periods in a list with multiple complete sentences
6. On our website, we chose to use sentence case and include periods in headers

Be Considerate

Use the names and pronouns that brands and people prefer, and make a reasonable effort to find out. For a Google-able company, there's no excuse. Be precise about spelling, spacing, and casing.

1. Justworks, not JustWorks
2. GitHub, not Github
3. Help Scout, not Helpscout
4. José, not Jose
5. Rob— well, Bob or Robert could also be preferred! One way to find out is to look at their social media or email signature. For pronouns specifically, use "they" and avoid he/she when uncertain.

Consider Your Audience

Before writing, answer these questions:

1. Who are you writing for?
2. What do they care about?
3. What knowledge, expertise, or context do they already have?
4. How will your writing be consumed?
5. How many people will read it?
6. How private or public is the expectation?
7. Will it be read quickly or carefully?
8. Will it be read once or referenced in the future?
9. What outcome do you want from your writing?
10. What do you want your audience to learn, feel, or do?

Craft your message around your answers, then review and revise!

Resources

1. Grammarly can identify and fix the vast majority of errors. Ask for an invite to Slab's team account.
2. WordHippo is a loose thesaurus that can seed ideas for the right word