A big issue we wrestle with here at Collective Next is how to best work with clients so they can tell persuasive, authentic, full-fledged stories about their work and their client — and not just deliver bullet points of boring. Just as we help clients set the stage even when it’s not their stage, we aim to help them develop one of the most important elements of a compelling story: their voice. How you say something, in many instances, can be even more important than what you’re saying.

We keep our eyes open for excellent examples of companies using voice to reveal the best about themselves and we found one earlier today when we received a notice to update an app on our iOS devices:

That’s a beautiful, telling update message. In a mere 19 words, it conveys both everything that all but obsessives need to know about the software we’re downloading (it works with the new OS and eliminates some bugs) and, in the last line, it gives you a sense of what the people there might be like. They’re willing to sneak a joke into a something as mundane as an app update notice. We believe that everything a company communicates reflects on the company. Here’s an ace example of a company squeezing in some personality where you might not expect it. And that might even make you feel better about using that company’s product.