Following Your Company's Style - by guest blogger Ronda Payne

Communications from an organization must be consistent in tone, style and personality to maintain the brand in the reader's mind. There is nothing worse than an advertisement, a newsletter and a website that all use a different style but are for the same company. Readers are left wondering what the organization is about - or worse - if it is the same organization.

Help identify the style of your organization by asking your leaders (and yourself) for 3 to 5 adjectives that would describe the company if it were a person. You may see words like "professional", "witty", "straightforward" or "cool". Review key documents of your company and ensure the adjectives you've gathered match up. If they don't, consider - has there been a change in direction? Which is incorrect - the key document, or the words chosen to describe the company? It's okay to determine a personality for the company that is different from past documents, but everything going forward should represent how you want the world to perceive the organization and the brand.

Look at Red Bull - what comes to mind for me is fun, lighthearted, energetic and young. How about VISA? They might be professional, available, helpful and dependable. Use the words that describe the company as your cue on how to write. Share with others who are responsible for writing organizational messaging so that you're all working from the same consistent platform.

As a representative of your organization, you need to write from the company's position, instead of your own.