How Adapting Your Voice and Tone Can Transform Your Atlassian Community Experience

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When I first started engaging in the Atlassian Community, I quickly realized that what you say is important, but how you say it can make all the difference. Learning to adapt your voice and tone has not only helped me connect better with others but also made my contributions more impactful and appreciated.

Why Voice and Tone Matter
Your voice is your unique personality that stays consistent across posts, while tone is how that personality adjusts depending on the conversation context. In the Atlassian Community, being clear, friendly, and practical goes a long way in making others feel welcome and supported.

Practical Tips for Honing Your Voice & Tone
Be Positive and Encouraging: Start by acknowledging the question or comment warmly. A simple “Great question!” or “Thanks for sharing your thoughts!” helps set a collaborative tone.

Adjust for Experience Level: If someone’s new, use gentle language and more detailed explanations. For experienced users, a concise, technical tone might be more appropriate.

Keep it Clear and Simple: Avoid jargon or overly complex terms. Aim to make your answers easy to understand for a wide audience.

Invite Further Engagement: Close with an open-ended question or an offer to clarify. This keeps conversations flowing and builds community spirit.

How This Has Changed My Community Participation
By focusing on voice and tone, I've seen better engagement on my posts and received more positive feedback. It’s rewarding to know that my approach helps others feel heard and supported, encouraging them to come back and share more.

Final Thought
Adapting your voice and tone isn’t just about style—it’s a way to build trust, foster inclusion, and make the Atlassian Community a great place for everyone to learn and grow.

What voice and tone tips have worked for you? Share your thoughts below—I’d love to hear your experiences!

[Barbara Szczesniak]

Well said, @Akriti Sagar, and a good reminder.

As a technical writer for about 35 years, I am used to adjusting my tone and approach based on my intended audience—member of the general public buying the application, chemists who were used to using a mainframe, developers creating a web app, etc.

In my current job, I've been writing in Confluence for our internal users, but I was recently tasked with writing some user guides for new customers. I had to make the shift to give more detailed explanations and a lot of screenshots (with no callouts on the images in case someone needs to translate the doc).

I do try to do this in the community—I always hope the poster is encouraged to ask a follow-up question or even just let me know whether I've helped.