Style and Voice Tips

 
Fewer words. Bigger ideas.

Audience understanding hinges on crisp minimalism. Shorter is always better.

Incorrect

If you have any questions, please contact your GOJO Representative or GOJO Customer Service at 1.800.321.9647.

Correct

Need more information? Contact us at 1.800.321.9647.


Write like a human

Read your text aloud. Does it sound like something a real person would say? Be friendly and conversational.

Incorrect

GOJO continually examines how we are managing our business, given our dynamic and evolving marketplace. This rigor helps us optimize, streamline, and focus processes and roles to meet the needs of our markets, our customers, and our team members.

Correct

We regularly look for better ways we can work. This focus ensures we are strong today and tomorrow.


Use contractions

Words like it’s, you’ll, you’re, we’re, let’s convey friendliness.

Incorrect

We celebrate World Hand Hygiene Day because it is a day to raise awareness on the critical role of hand hygiene.

Correct

We celebrate World Hand Hygiene Day because it's a day to raise awareness on the critical role of hand hygiene.


Get to the point

Lead with what’s most important.

 Incorrect

As 70 percent of norovirus outbreaks are caused by infected foodservice workers, ignoring the potential for a norovirus outbreak can not only be costly, but also poses a health risk to customers, and can damage a restaurant’s reputation. The PURELL® brand has partnered with Public Health Innovations to launch an innovative tool to help prevent the spread of norovirus in restaurants. The NOROVIRUS HOT SPOT™ Program is an operating procedure, training tool and job aid all in one, that educates restaurant employees on germ transmission “hot spots.”

Correct

The PURELL® brand is partnering with Public Health Innovations to launch a foodservice tool to reduce the risk of norovirus outbreaks in restaurants.


Be brief

Give people just enough information to make decisions confidently. Prune every excess word.

 Incorrect

The organizational redesign will not only help us unleash the potential of the strategy and process work already completed but will also facilitate deeper process work that still needs to be done to achieve ongoing success.

Correct

Through these organizational changes, we are evolving to position GOJO for the future.


Be clear

Clarity. Clarity. Clarity. When you become hopelessly mired in a sentence, it is best to start fresh. Usually, the sentence needs to be broken apart and replaced by two or more shorter sentences. Avoid the elaborate, the pretentious, the coy, and the cute. Keep paragraphs short and sentence structure simple, aim for one verb per sentence. Read text aloud and imagine it spoken by a person. Spell out words like and, plus, and about. Readers can misread text that uses special characters like the plus sign (+) and tilde (~).

 Incorrect

Through this process, we gained valuable insights on the importance of a balanced approach that enables us to achieve our objectives for reducing the GOJO chemical footprint as well as meeting our customers’ product experience needs.

 Correct

We have a deeper appreciation of the balance necessary to reduce our chemical footprint and meet our customers’ needs.


When in doubt, don't capitalize

Capitalize only the first word of a heading or phrase and any proper nouns or names. Titles and honorifics are capitalized only when they immediately precede the person’s name; titles are lowercased when following a name or used in place of a name. EXCEPTION: There is an exception for title signatures on letters and emails.

Incorrect

Join Us Online
Find a GOJO Distributor

“Hand hygiene is one the most important measures a person can take to reduce illness and infection,” said Jim Arbogast, Vice President of Hygiene Science and Public Health Advancement.

Sincerely,
Samantha Williams
Public relations director, GOJO

Correct

Join us online

Find a GOJO distributor

“Hand hygiene is one the most important measures a person can take to reduce illness and infection,” said Jim Arbogast, Ph.D. vice president of hygiene science and public health advancement.

Sincerely,
Samantha Williams
Public Relations Director, GOJO


Virus names

Be consistent with capitalizations when using virus names. If you’re unsure, follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization nomenclature. You can look up virus names at cdc.gov or who.int.

Example

norovirus and cold and flu are not capitalized by the CDC, but Salmonella is.


Bulleted lists

Capitalize the first letter of each item. Unless each bullet is written in complete sentences, omit periods. If one bullet in a series requires a period, use a period for the entire series of bullets. Use parallel writing structures for similar things. For example, use singular nouns for each top-level heading. Or, use a verb to start each item in a list.

Example

 

  • Assign an installation project champion
  • Sign off on installation completion
  • Confirm dispenser and refill availability
  • Provide access to all areas and facilities


Parallel construction

Parallel structure is repetition of the same pattern of words or phrases within a sentence or passage to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance.

Incorrect

 

It is how we organize to:

  • Achieve breakthrough results
  • Facilitate decision-making
  • Market specialization and category leadership

Correct

 

It is how we organize to:

  • Achieve breakthrough results
  • Facilitate decision-making
  • Leverage market specialization and category leadership


Headline punctuation

Skip end punctuation on titles, headings, subheads, and items in a list that are three or fewer words. Save the periods for paragraphs and body copy.

Incorrect

Hand Sanitizer Myths.

Correct

Hand Sanitizer Myths


Use the Oxford or serial comma

In a list of three or more items, include a comma before the conjunction. (The comma that comes before the conjunction is known as the Oxford or serial comma.)

Incorrect

Our goal is to improve processes, reduce complexity and drive competitive advantage.

 Correct

Our goal is to improve processes, reduce complexity, and drive competitive advantage.


Mind your space

Use only one space after periods, question marks, or colons. Use a space before and after dashes but not for hyphenated words.

Incorrect

Over the last 10 years–in her expanded role as GOJO Vice Chair–Marcella co-led the enterprise with the GOJO leadership team and me.

Join us in welcoming James to GOJO.  He can be reached at ext. 6715.

Correct

Over the last ten years – in her expanded role as GOJO Vice Chair – Marcella co-led the enterprise with the GOJO leadership team and me.

Join us in welcoming James to GOJO. He can be reached at ext. 6715.