# VOICE.md Words on a screen are design material. They are read in a hurry, by somebody in the middle of doing something else. **This file is the source of truth for what the words say.** How they are set — which type step, how many lines a title runs to, how long a paragraph may be — belongs to [DESIGN.md](DESIGN.md) §3. The split is: a rule you could check by reading the copy aloud lives here; a rule you could check by measuring the rendered screen lives there. --- ## The voice We are the brilliant but humble expert who makes complex things feel simple. We work alongside our users, not above them. Humble and straightforward · a mature expert · mildly encouraging without sycophancy · collaborative, in "we" language · playful at the right moments. --- ## The twelve **1 · Lead with the action.** Every line runs in one sequence: *what the person is trying to do* + *what they have to do about it*. Not the system's state first, and not what has been noticed, detected or prevented — what they came for. ✗ "This slide is full. Remove an object to add another." · ✓ "To add another object, remove one that is already on the slide." Both carry the same two facts; only the second is written from their side. **Check it by reading the first four words.** If they describe the software rather than the person's intent, the line is backwards. **2 · Always be specific, never vague.** Tell people exactly what happens next. ✗ "Let's get started" · ✓ "Let's start building your presentation" **3 · Short, direct sentences.** One idea each. **4 · Brief context when it helps.** Say why you are asking, and keep it short. ✗ "Enter your company website" · ✗ a full paragraph about brand extraction · ✓ "Enter your company website so we can match your brand" **5 · "We" language.** We build presentations with our users. ✗ "You can create a presentation" · ✓ "We'll create your presentation" **6 · Handle failures gracefully.** Calm and solution-focused. ✗ "AI failed to generate your presentation" · ✓ "We're having trouble with this request. Let's try a different approach" **7 · Active voice.** Make it clear who is doing what. ✗ "Your slides will be created shortly" · ✓ "We'll create your slides in 30 seconds" **8 · Benefits, not features.** What they accomplish, not what the technology does. ✗ "Our AI analyzes your content and applies design algorithms" · ✓ "We'll organize your ideas and make them look professional" **9 · One term for one thing.** "Presentation" is the primary term — not deck, slides, PPT by turns. Where it turns unwieldy, a button label like "Re-generate deck" may take "deck" (decided 10 Aug 2026). "PPT" names the export format only, never the thing itself. **10 · Positive framing.** Point forward, not at what is missing. ✗ "You haven't selected a template yet" · ✓ "Choose your template to get started" **11 · Playful when appropriate.** Onboarding, step-by-step creation, pricing — yes. Errors, technical explanations, payment and final exports — no. ✗ "Oops! Something totally bonked out on us!" · ✓ "Something went wrong on our end. We're fixing it now" **12 · Adjust to the person.** Business professionals: slightly more formal, about efficiency. Students and educators: slightly more encouraging, about learning. --- ## The five nevers **No sycophancy or vague enthusiasm.** ✗ "Your idea is brilliant!" **No jargon, buzzwords or corporate speak.** ✗ "Leverage our cutting-edge AI to optimize your narrative" **No hedging.** ✗ "We might be able to help you create something that could work" **No unnecessary apologies.** ✗ "Sorry, but you'll need to upgrade to export" · ✓ "Ready to export? Here are your options" **No false urgency.** ✗ "Act now! Limited time offer!" · ✓ "Most professionals choose the annual plan" --- ## On a screen The rules above are about words in a sentence. This one is about words across a whole screen. **A fact belongs in one place.** The same name or number twice on one screen means one of them is doing nothing. **A screen that can be arrived at cold says what it is before it asks for anything.** Not the product's name in a corner — the offer, in the headline, in the person's terms. Ask who could land here with no idea what this is: from a nav item, a link someone sent them, a browser tab left open overnight. If that person cannot answer *what is this and what do I get* from the first thing they read, the headline is doing the second job before the first. *"Tell us when you need it back"* is a fine second line and a bad first one — it assumes the reader already knows there is a **person** who takes the deck away, and that is the entire proposition. Written down 10 Aug 2026, after five variants opened this way and every one of them passed the checklist. The rest of what used to sit here is measurable off the rendered picture rather than off the copy, so it lives in [DESIGN.md](DESIGN.md) §3 instead: a subtitle must state a fact its title does not, a title runs to two lines at most, a paragraph stops at about sixty words, and an eyebrow is rare and set in the monospace in caps.