Training Content Style Guide Template

A ready-to-use style guide for your training materials: keep the defaults, or make it your own in an afternoon.

Who it is for

• A small-business owner whose checklists, handouts and slides all look different

• An HR or training person who collects materials from many managers and wants them to match

• A manager or subject expert who has been asked to write training for the first time

• A training team that wants faster reviews and fewer debates about wording and layout

• Anyone preparing training for customers or partners who needs it to look consistent and professional

The problem it solves

When every person who writes training makes their own choices, learners get different words for the same thing, job aids that are laid out differently every time, and slides crowded with text. Reviews turn into debates about personal preference. A style guide settles these choices once. This one is ready to use: every section has a sensible default, explains why the rule matters, and shows a weak and a better example, so you can adopt it today or change only what you need.

What is inside

Style guide (Word, editable, and PDF, 19 pages)

• How to use this guide and contents (page 1)

• Before you start: what a style guide does, how to customize it in one afternoon, and how it works in a small business, an HR role or a training team (page 2)

• 1. About this guide: owner, scope, version and how to suggest changes, with a filled-in example (page 3)

• 2. Voice and tone: three voice words, how tone changes by situation, good and weak examples, your choices (pages 4 to 5)

• 3. Wording rules: plain language rules with before-and-after examples, a terms list, numbers, dates and formatting choices, inclusive wording (pages 6 to 7)

• 4. Slide layout: rules, good and weak examples, your choices for template, fonts, colors and text limits (pages 8 to 9)

• 5. Job aid layout: choosing the right kind, layout rules, the same job aid weak and better, your choices (pages 10 to 11)

• 6. Accessibility basics: nine basics, writing good alternative text, and a quick accessibility check (pages 12 to 13)

• 7. Naming and file conventions: a file naming pattern, versions and status, folder structure, your choices (pages 14 to 15)

• 8. Image use: rules, good and weak examples, an image source log, your choices (pages 16 to 17)

• 9. One-page style summary, blank and filled in, and how to keep the guide current (pages 18 to 19)

Every "Your choices" table has a ready-to-use default and a column for your own decision.

How to use it

1. Open the Word file and read each section's "Why this section matters" box.

2. Keep each default, or type your own choice in the "Our choice" column.

3. Replace the words in [brackets] with your details and add your own terms.

4. Delete the guidance boxes if you want a shorter final copy.

5. Share the guide and post the one-page summary where people create training.

Formats and file types

• Microsoft Word file (.docx), fully editable; also opens in Google Docs

• PDF, 19 pages, US Letter, to read, print and share

Frequently asked questions