Voice and tone
How Bridge sounds, and how the tone shifts for success, errors and empty states.
Bridge’s voice
Bridge sounds like a well-connected colleague: someone who knows everyone, gets to the point and makes the next step obvious. The voice stays the same in every app; only the tone shifts with the moment.
Clear
Plain words a busy person gets on the first read. One idea per sentence, the important word first.
Couldn’t sync the calendar. Try again.
Calendar synchronization encountered an unexpected error.
Confident
Say what happened. No hedging, no boasting.
Intro sent to Leah Okonkwo
Your intro may have been sent successfully!
Helpful
Every message points to the next step.
No intros with Leah yet. Intros you make or receive show up here.
Nothing here.
Human
Words you’d say to a colleague. Warm through courtesy, not exclamation marks.
Welcome back, Ana
Hey superstar, ready to crush it today?
Professional
The language founders and investors use, without jargon that shuts people out.
Priya Natarajan can introduce you
Leverage your network synergies
How to write it
Six habits that turn the voice into copy, each shown as the first draft and the line that ships.
Lead with the outcome
What happened, or what the person can do, comes first.
Your request to send an intro has been processed successfully.
Intro sent.
Name the person
Say who. A category makes people go and look.
This contact will lose access.
Leah Okonkwo will no longer see your network.
Say what happens next
When something starts, say how people will know it’s done.
Your sync has been queued.
Syncing your calendar. Meetings show up here when it’s done.
Use members’ words
Intros, contacts, connectors and networks, never the system’s words.
Entity sync failed for 3 refIds.
Couldn’t update 3 contacts.
Stay calm as the stakes rise
The bigger the consequence, the plainer the words.
WARNING! This cannot be undone!
Leah will no longer see your network. You can share again at any time.
Friendly, not familiar
Courtesy without performance: no slang, no emoji, no exclamation marks on screens.
Hey there! Ready to make some intros?
Welcome back, Ana
Tone by moment
The closer the moment is to losing something (a connection, data, someone’s trust), the plainer the words. Greetings and empty states can be warm; confirmations and errors are plain.
| Moment | Tone | Write | Never |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greeting | Warm and brief | Welcome back, Ana. Here’s what’s new across your network. | Welcome back, superstar! |
| Success | Quiet, past tense | Intro sent to Leah Okonkwo | Woohoo! Intro sent! |
| Empty | Helpful, says what will appear | No intros with Leah yet. Intros you make or receive show up here. | Nothing here! |
| Error | Calm, no blame, says what to do | Couldn’t load your intros. Try again. | Oops! Something went wrong. |
| Destructive | Serious and specific | Stop sharing with Leah Okonkwo? Leah will no longer see your network. You can share again at any time. | Are you sure? Yes / No |
| Waiting | Reassuring and short | Syncing your calendar… | Please wait while we process your request |
| Settings and admin | Matter-of-fact | 3 accounts synced. 2 pending. | Great news! Most of your accounts are synced! |
The moments, live
Each moment in the component that carries it. Try Make intro and Stop sharing.
Greeting
Welcome back, Ana
Here’s what’s new across your network: who joined, who shared, and how your intros are landing.
Success
Empty
No intros with Leah yet
Intros you make or receive show up here.
Error
Couldn’t load your intros
Destructive
Waiting
What we never write
| Never | Why | Write instead |
|---|---|---|
| Oops, Uh-oh, Something went wrong | Cute and vague: people still don’t know what failed. | Couldn’t load your intros. Try again. |
| Click here, Submit, OK, Yes / No | Says nothing about what happens. | A verb and the thing: Make intro, Stop sharing |
| Are you sure? | Asks for a second thought without saying what’s at stake. | Stop sharing with Leah Okonkwo? |
| Exclamation marks on screens | Shouting. Calm copy reads as confident. | Intro sent (an email may use one in its greeting) |
| User | People on Bridge are members; people you know are contacts. | Member, contact, or their name |
| Introduction | Members say intro. | Intro, Make intro, Your intros |
| refId, n1, n2, broker | Internal words. | Contact, the two people being introduced, connector |
| Leverage, unlock, supercharge, seamless | Marketing words on a screen where people work. | Say what it does |
| Title Case, ALL CAPS, emoji | Breaks the calm, sentence-case voice. | Sentence case, no emoji |
Emails
Emails Bridge sends for a member, like an intro, are written to people, not to someone using a screen. They keep the voice (clear, specific, no jargon) and may use one exclamation mark in the greeting: “Hector, meet Connor!”. Everything on a screen around them follows this page.