Voice
Vocabulary
The words we use and the ones we avoid.
Words we use
| We say | Not | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Member | Patient, customer, user, client | Patient is cold and clinical, customer is a transaction. Member says you belong to something. |
| Health coach, your coach | Advisor, support agent, care team | Coach is a person who is on your side. Lower case in running copy (“your health coach”); capitalise in a job title or a role label (“Laura, Health Coach”). |
| Treatment, treatment plan | Programme, product, package | Treatment is the whole thing, medication and coaching together, and the word to lead with in public advertising. Medication, pen, injection and tablet are the right words for the thing itself, on treatment pages, in the assessment and in the member area. |
| Weight loss | Weight management, fat loss, slimming | Weight loss is what people search for and what they want. Weight management sounds like a programme they are being put on. |
| Lose weight for good, lasting weight loss | Transform, shred, drop a dress size | Lasting is the promise. Transformation language is about bodies, not health. |
| Check in, weigh in | Review, monitoring | Check in is what a person does. Monitoring is what a system does. |
| Side effects | Adverse events | Plain and honest. People know what side effects are. |
| Come off treatment | Discontinuation, cessation | Plain words for an important moment. |
| Your team | Our network, our partners, additional services | Team is personal and implies they are already working for you. |
| Private GP appointment, physio, nutritionist, mental health support | Healthcare professionals, HCPs, clinicians | Name the professional they will actually see. |
Words we avoid entirely
- Obese
- Obesity
To describe a member. Fine when quoting a clinical source, or when a PR piece needs to name the condition factually and correctly.
- Willpower
- Cheat
- Guilt
- Naughty
And anything else that makes weight a test of character.
- Skinny
- Slim down
- Flab
- Miracle
- Quick fix
Bodies as the subject, or promises we cannot keep.
Drug names, “weight loss injection”, “jab” and similar never appear in public advertising at all. That is a legal line as well as a brand one. See compliance.
Outside advertising
Digital PR, press comment and explainers can name a medicine or say “weight loss injections” when the mention is neutral and factual, such as reporting a study or answering a journalist.