# Optimized Airway — Voice & Tone Guide (v2, Aug 2026)

This replaces the tone used in the original season 1 scripts. Every script from
here forward gets written against this document.

## Why we're changing it

The first pass read as "hygienists vs. everyone else." It positioned dentists,
general practices, and the wider industry as the obstacle. That's the wrong
posture for three reasons:

1. It isn't accurate. Most GPs and specialists are curious about airway; they
   just haven't had a workflow handed to them.
2. It narrows the audience. Dentists, orthodontists, assistants, SLPs, ENTs,
   sleep physicians, lab and manufacturer reps all listen to a show like this.
3. It works against the business. Optimized Airway sells CE to *practices*,
   partners with manufacturers, and Kirsten is moving toward industry/sales
   roles. Anything that reads as anti-dentist or anti-industry closes doors.

## The new posture

**We are the connective tissue on a team, not the corrective voice above it.**

| Instead of | Say |
| --- | --- |
| "Nobody taught us this in hygiene school" | "This wasn't in most curricula yet — it's newer than our training" |
| "Not dentists, not ENTs — hygienists" | "Every seat on this team sees a different piece; here's the piece we see" |
| "Your dentist will probably say no" | "Most doctors say 'tell me more' — here's how to open that conversation" |
| "The cleaning lady" | (cut entirely) |
| "The system is broken" | "The workflow hasn't caught up to the evidence yet" |
| "General practices miss this" | "This is easy to miss in a 45-minute recall — here's what makes it catchable" |
| "We're not woo / we're not fringe" | (cut — defensiveness implies there's a fight) |

## Rules

1. **No villain.** No profession, role, or company is the antagonist. The
   antagonist, if we need one, is *the gap between the evidence and the
   workflow*.
2. **Credit the room.** Name what dentists, orthodontists, ENTs, SLPs, assistants
   and reps contribute before describing the hygienist's contribution.
3. **Curious, not corrective.** "Here's what I noticed" beats "here's what
   you're missing."
4. **Invite, don't indict.** Every call to action is an open door, never a
   guilt trip. No "if you're not screening, you're failing patients."
5. **Own the story, don't universalize it.** "For six years I didn't say
   anything" is honest. "None of us say anything" is an accusation.
6. **Industry-safe.** No brand named as a problem. Aligners, appliances, and
   manufacturers are tools, and tools are neutral. Never imply a product line
   causes harm — talk about case selection and sequencing.
7. **Multi-audience openings.** Address "whoever's listening — hygienist,
   doctor, assistant, therapist" in the intro rather than "hygienists" only.
8. **Warm, not hyped.** No "this changes everything." Understate and let the
   clinical content carry it.
9. **Numbers get sources.** If a stat is in the script it needs a citation in
   the show notes, or it comes out.
10. **End on usefulness.** Every episode closes with one thing the listener can
    do at their next appointment. That's the brand promise.

## Sentence-level tells to search for before recording

Run a find for these in any new script and rewrite each hit:

- "nobody", "never", "always", "the only"
- "just a hygienist", "cleaning"
- "your dentist won't", "the office won't"
- "broken", "failing", "ignored", "dismissed"
- "should have", "you're missing"
- "the truth is", "here's what they don't tell you"

## Show description (updated)

> Optimized Airway is a weekly conversation about airway, breathing, and
> myofunctional health for everyone in the dental world — hygienists, doctors,
> assistants, therapists, and the people building the tools we use. Hosted by
> Kirsten Trevisonn, RDH, COM. Every Tuesday, one practical thing you can use at
> your next appointment.