Source: https://developers.google.com/style/person\n\n# Second person and first person
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Save and categorize content based on your preferences.\n\n- Home\n- Products\n- Style\n\n\n## Page Summary\n\n- In your writing, address the reader directly using "you" or "your" instead of "we," "our," or "us" to maintain a conversational tone and clarity.\n- When providing instructions, use the imperative mood to guide the reader effectively (e.g., "Click Submit").\n- While generally using second-person pronouns, reserve third-person for actions performed by software or end-users, ensuring clarity and accuracy in technical documentation.\n- While first-person plural pronouns like "we" or "our" are acceptable when referencing the organization, ensure clear and unambiguous context to avoid confusion.\n- Maintain consistent audience identification throughout your document, clarifying the intended reader (e.g., developer, system administrator) for better comprehension and engagement.\n\nIn your writing, address the reader directly using "you" or "your" instead of "we," "our," or "us" to maintain a conversational tone and clarity.\n\nWhen providing instructions, use the imperative mood to guide the reader effectively (e.g., "Click Submit").\n\nWhile generally using second-person pronouns, reserve third-person for actions performed by software or end-users, ensuring clarity and accuracy in technical documentation.\n\nWhile first-person plural pronouns like "we" or "our" are acceptable when referencing the organization, ensure clear and unambiguous context to avoid confusion.\n\nMaintain consistent audience identification throughout your document, clarifying the intended reader (e.g., developer, system administrator) for better comprehension and engagement.\n\n\n## Address the reader as you\n\nIn general, address the reader of your documents
using the second person instead of the first person: use you or your
instead of we, our, or us.
Assume that the reader is the person who's doing the
tasks or making the decisions. Use the word user only to refer to the user
of the software that your reader is developing.\n\n\nRecommended | Not recommended\nThe following sections describe how you can create a website. | The following sections describe how we can create a website.\nConsider adding a description to your table. | Let's add a description to our table.\nThis document shows you how to develop an app for your organization. | This document shows the user how to develop an app for their organization.\n\nIf you're telling the reader to do something, then use the imperative (the you is
implied). For example:\n\nRecommended: Click Submit.\n\nIt's OK to use the imperative in running text after you establish who is being addressed.
However, consider whether the imperative text needs to be formatted as as a procedure.\n\nRecommended: You can obtain the IP address
for the appliance from your network administrator. Store the address in a variable for future
use in the runbook.\n\nNot recommended: To hold the backup data,
create a storage bucket. In the Google Cloud console, go to the Buckets page. Click
Create bucket.\n\nThere are some situations in which using you might not be accurate or
appropriate. Use the second person to address what the reader does, but use the
third person for what the software or an end user does. For example, in API
documentation, you can use the third person when you state facts about programming
elements, but address the reader as you when you tell them what to do with
them.\n\n\n## Use first-person plural pronouns carefully\n\nIt's OK to use first-person plural pronouns (such as we, our, or us)
to refer to the organization that's represented as the author of the document. However, ensure
that the antecedent for the pronoun is clear.\n\nRecommended: Example Organization provides
A and B, but we don't provide C and D.\n\nRecommended: For more information, contact
our sales organization.\n\nRecommended: The example.org support team
regularly reviews tickets. Expect to hear from us in 2-3 business days.\n\n\n## Address your audience consistently\n\nIt's important to identify who the you is that you're addressing
(a developer? a sysadmin? someone else?) and to be consistent
about that. Make it clear to the reader who you expect them to be (sometimes
with an explicit audience sentence near the beginning of the document).\n