Tone of Voice
Guidelines
The Hearts and Minds Partnership is a values-led organisation, underpinned by a shared vision to connect, support and celebrate Voluntary Community & Social Enterprises (VCSEs) in perinatal mental health across England.
The name was deliberately chosen to establish a careful balance between . . .
. . . the emotive, heart-led, passion-fuelled motivation behind the grassroots PMH sector . . .
. . . and the requirement for quality assurance, rigour and governance that is essential in the development of a third sector service.
It is a seamless fusion of left & right brain.
We show up as passionate, agile, non-hierarchical, responsive and collaborative. We roll up our sleeves and get things done in the spirit of teamship. We are always learning and our approach is shaped by ‘real life’ experience of on the ground of service delivery, celebrating success, being honest and open about the challenges and always exploring new ways of doing things. We act with integrity.
Our language is friendly (with a professional edge when necessary), supportive, inclusive, respectful and collaborative. It is imbued with compassion and integrity but also firm when it needs to be (robust kindness).
When communicating, our choice of words is considered and we aim to be responsive and helpful without promising to deliver beyond the parameters of our scope of work. We refrain from engaging in any sensitive or inflammatory debate and are always mindful that we are representing the Partnership appropriately.
When talking about the sector we refer to:
The VCSE
Voluntary, Community & Social Enterprise
Grassroots community services
Meaning services built from the ground up, with philanthropic, charitable aims which are not-for-profit
Perinatal period
Meaning the period during pregnancy, birth and beyond including fertility challenges and loss
Our perspective
While we don’t deny the challenges faced by the VCSE, we’re careful not to slip into defending a position, without acknowledging other viewpoints. We bring honesty and passion to discussions, but we’re mindful of perpetuating division with an ‘us’ and ‘them’ approach.
We’re open to learning and accountability is important to us. We are relational and authentic and we also bring humility. If we make a mistake, we own it and we recognise opportunities to challenge our own conditioning and unconscious bias – even if that feels uncomfortable.
Our space of intention is important – it’s not about doing things perfectly or fearing making a mistake, it’s about showing up with integrity and doing our best from moment to moment.
We create space for ourselves and others so that candid conversations are always held in safety and trust.
Equity, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
The grassroots PMH sector is rich, diverse and brimming with insight about the needs and challenges of the families it serves. We recognise that different communities face different barriers which are not always easily articulated or understood. It’s our job to ensure our language around this work is accessible and representative, as well as to listen deeply to seldom heard voices who can help shape the way.
We take guidance about EDI language from the following sources, remembering that they are continuously evolving:
https://www.centreformentalhealth.org.uk/guide-race-and-ethnicity-terminology/
https://www.all4maternity.com/inclusive-language/
https://www.rcm.org.uk/media/6225/inclusivity-statement.pdf
Social Media Guidance
When speaking about the Hearts & Minds Partnership across social media and beyond, we encourage you to use the language outlined within this document.
You can signpost any queries to: hello@heartsandmindspartnershop.org or direct people to our website: www.heartsandmindspartnership.org
If you would like to spread the word about some of the Hearts & Minds Partnership’s key workstreams, please feel free to use the following graphics along with the appropriate captions given:
Useful hashtags when sharing any of the above graphics, or speaking about the Hearts & Minds Partnership in general might include:
#heartsandmindspartnership #heartsandminds #growthegrassroots #vcse #vcsesector #thirdsector #network #grassroots #community
#perinatalmentalhealthnetwork #peersupport #pmh #perinatalmentalhealth
#maternalmentalhealthmatters #families #maternalmentalhealth #maternalmentalhealthawareness #parentalmentalhealth #honestparenthood #parenthood #motherhood #matressence #mentalhealth
#map #onlinemap #trustedspaces #newsletter #signup #smartspace #onlinetraining #cpd
Further Info
For further guidance on our tone of voice, or to get approval for social media and comms in general, please do email us - we'd love to hear from you.