---
name: content-style-guide
description: "Create a content style guide / voice & tone guide so everyone writes consistently. Use when asked to write a content style guide, a voice and tone guide, editorial guidelines, or UX-writing standards. Produces a usable guide — voice principles with do/don't examples, tone-by-context, mechanics (grammar, capitalisation, formatting), terminology/word list, and accessibility/inclusivity rules — that a team can actually apply."
---

# Content Style Guide Skill

A style guide makes a brand sound like one voice no matter who's writing. The useful ones aren't 50 pages of
rules — they're **voice principles with examples, tone guidance by context, and a word list** people reach for
daily. This skill produces a guide a team will actually use, grounded in concrete do/don't examples rather than
abstract adjectives.

## Working from a brief

Given "a style guide for our fintech app", **produce the full guide anyway** — infer voice principles and
terminology from the brand and audience, and mark inferred choices for the team to confirm. Make every principle
**show an example**. Never hand back abstract values with no examples.

## Required Inputs

Ask for these only if they aren't already provided (else infer and label):

- **The brand & audience** — what you do, who you write for, and how you want to come across.
- **Existing voice cues** — sample copy you like (and dislike), and any current rules.
- **Surfaces** — where this applies (product UI, marketing, support, docs) — tone may shift by surface.
- **Specifics** — preferred terms, things to avoid, locale (US/UK spelling), formality.

## Output Format

### [Brand] Content Style Guide

**1. Voice — who we are** — 3–4 voice principles, each as **"We are X, not Y"** with a **before/after example**.

**2. Tone — how we adapt** — how the voice flexes by context (e.g. celebratory on success, calm and brief on errors, warm in onboarding), with a small table: situation → tone → example.

**3. Mechanics** — the rules that come up constantly: capitalisation (sentence vs. title case), punctuation (Oxford comma, exclamation marks), numbers/dates/currency, contractions, US/UK spelling, formatting (headings, lists, links, buttons).

**4. Word list** — a do/don't terminology table: preferred term, what to avoid, and why (product terms, jargon to drop, words that are on/off-brand).

**5. Inclusivity & accessibility** — inclusive language, reading level, plain-language rules, and accessibility (link text, alt text, no "click here", no directional-only instructions).

**6. Quick reference** — a one-screen cheat sheet of the most-used rules.

Mark inferred voice/terminology choices *(confirm with the team)*.

## Quality Checks

- [ ] Voice principles are concrete ("X, not Y") and each shows a before/after example
- [ ] Tone guidance covers multiple real contexts, not one default
- [ ] Mechanics cover the rules that actually recur (caps, punctuation, numbers, spelling)
- [ ] The word list gives preferred vs. avoid terms with reasons
- [ ] Inclusivity and accessibility rules are included and specific
- [ ] There's a one-screen quick reference people will actually use

## Anti-Patterns

- [ ] Do not list abstract values ("be friendly, be clear") with no examples — examples are the guide
- [ ] Do not write an exhaustive rulebook no one will read — prioritise the high-frequency decisions
- [ ] Do not ignore tone-by-context — the same voice should sound different in an error vs. a celebration
- [ ] Do not omit a terminology/word list — inconsistent product terms are the most visible failure
- [ ] Do not skip accessibility/inclusivity — they're style rules too

## Based On

Content design practice — example-driven voice principles, context-based tone, editorial mechanics, terminology management, and inclusive/accessible language.