1.3 Tone & Audience

Time: ~20 minutes

What You'll Learn

• Why the same message needs different words for different people
• The three dimensions of tone: formality, directness, and framing
• How to rewrite a single message for your CEO, your team, and a client
• Spotting when your tone doesn't match your audience

Key Concepts

One Message, Many Versions

A project update for your CEO is not the same document as a project update for your team. The facts might be identical, but the tone, detail level, and framing change completely.

• CEO: Wants the bottom line. What's the risk? What do you need?
• Team: Wants the details. What changed? What do they do next?
• Client: Wants reassurance. Is everything on track? What should they expect?

The Three Dimensions of Tone

Every piece of writing sits somewhere on three spectrums:

1. Formality -- Casual ("Hey, quick update") vs. formal ("Please find enclosed...")
2. Directness -- Blunt ("This won't work") vs. diplomatic ("We may want to consider alternatives")
3. Framing -- Positive ("We've made progress") vs. neutral ("Here's where things stand")

Most people write with one default tone. This lesson teaches you to shift intentionally.

The Rewriting Exercise

Claude will give you a single piece of information and ask you to write it three different ways for three different audiences. Then you'll compare your versions and discuss what changed and why.

How to Start

start lesson 1.3

Skills You'll Use Later

• Audience awareness (essential for style guides in 2.4)
• Tone adjustment (used when prompting AI for different outputs)
• Multi-version writing (powers the template work in 2.2)