Tone of Voice

How we talk about what we do matters. It’s about speaking to our community in a way that shares our values and beliefs. How we talk about ourselves is important, to ensure that our messaging is clear and consistent, bringing people along with us on our journey.

We are an exciting inclusive partnership between three leading institutions

We use the first person plural – ‘We’ – rather than CFA as much as possible to demonstrate this. Where we speak of CFA it is to distinguish ourselves from the individual partners.

Please note, we use CFA and Creative Futures Academy, not The CFA.

We see our learners as our partners too

We never talk down to those taking, or considering taking our courses. We use language that speaks directly to them, for example, we say ‘you will…’ rather than ‘the participant will…’.

Where we need to speak in the third person, ‘learner’ is preferable to ‘student‘ or ‘participant’.

We empower people to Think, Explore, Connect and Do

We use language that is clear, lively and interesting. This means using active verbs, short sentences, and framing text as questions to encourage new connections.

We are welcoming to new thinking and fresh ideas

New ideas may come from the most surprising of sources. We use language that is approachable and jargon-free to engage as broad a spectrum as possible. Never assume someone speaks your own technical or insider language. Never assume that someone who doesn’t has nothing to contribute.

We are confident, but humble, working with people at all stages of their creative careers and journeys

From industry leader to undergraduate, everyone we work with is important. We confidently expect to be able to learn something from everyone we meet. We use language that is non hierarchical. We are aware we are building something new, but are confident in our goals.

We talk in the present tense

Although we are new, we are already on the path, so we talk in the present tense. We are doing it – now.

Words We Prefer

Learner – not Student or Participant
Explore – not Study