Ben Afia has faced just about every argument against adopting a new tone of voice over the last decade. Here are some of the things that can persuade the doubters.
One
Train your influential people first: not just copywriters, but the directors (and their assistants). If the leaders lead, people will follow.
Two
There are always a bunch of arm-folding doubters who’ll accuse you of dumbing down when you cut the pomp, jargon and business speak out of your brand language. Help them to see things from the customers’ point of view. Ask people to step into the character of the person they’re writing to. It’ll help them see their language from that point of view.
Three
You can’t just tell people to change; a set of ‘write like this, not like this’ brand guidelines isn’t enough to make it happen. Give everyone a set of writing tools, and train your people how to use them.
You can read more in our article Six objections to a new tone of voice (and how to overcome them).