Writing tips, decision trees, and books

Insider Comms for internal comms

🌳 Don’t forget! Next Friday is Earth Day. Here’s a unique asset for your intranet or newsletter.

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✍🏻 Write On

via Silke Kramprich

Silke Kramprich, corporate comms manager for Lenze, has been in the comms game for more than 20 years. So when she puts together a list of best practices for improving comms, I pay attention. Her latest article is a snappy synthesis of writing tips and techniques culled from a variety of sources.

In short, here are Ms. Kramprich’s five writing tips for the intranet:

1. Get the needs and purpose clear first

2. Make sure your headline and first paragraph convey the key messages

3. Write in a conversational tone and in plain language

4. Put your message in context to the narrative of your organization

5. Create scannable content

More on these five tips plus a few writing resources.

💭 My thought: Ms. Kramprich’s tips are spot-on for informational articles, like org changes, policy updates, event announcements, etc. Storytelling (narrative) articles take a different approach. You need, for example, emotion or surprise to lure the reader into a deeper or longer story, such as an employee profile, to create an emotional connection. (A topic for another day.)

Follow up with these two articles on Mister Editorial:

• Why Every Intranet Article Should Have a Byline

• Back to Basics With Clear Writing: The Topic Sentence

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Etc.

Meet Laura Colantuono, head of Internal Communications, International at The Kraft Heinz Company (The Switchboard)

Webinar: Are intranets still relevant? (Interact)

Ten Tips for IC Professionals to Earn a Seat at The Table This Year (Poppulo)

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Decisions, Decisions

Have you ever drafted an internal communications piece and wondered whether it should be part of a broader comms campaign? If you have, you’re not alone. If you haven’t, Conor Ludden’s framework may still be helpful for your decision-making process going forward. 

• Decision trees are often used in business circles to visualize a series of sequential steps and arrive at some form of outcome or conclusion.

• The characteristics of comms campaigns can vary, but the decision tree can be used to take a more strategic approach to your internal comms. 

Read: What Is a Comms Campaign Decision Tree? (Mister Editorial)

P.S. Conor published his article on Mister Editorial. If you’re interested in sharing your insights with 2,000+ comms professionals around the world, email me editorshaun@gmail.com.

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Internal Comms Adjacent

🙊 The Awkward but Essential Art of Office Chitchat (NYT)

🐌 Email Is Slow and Creates Distance. That’s Why It’s Great. (NYT)

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GoGuardian - Senior Internal Communications Manager (remote, USA)

KPMG - Manager, Global Internal Communications (South Carolina)

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center - VP, Enterprise Communications (NYC)

University of Chicago - Director of Internal Communications (Chicago, hybrid)

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Read Something Great

Subscribers bought several books in March from the Mister Editorial bookshop, including:

• Principles: Life and Work by Ray Dalio

• The Conversation: How Seeking and Speaking the Truth about Racism Can Radically Transform Individuals and Organizations by Robert Livingston

• Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life: Life-Changing Tools for Healthy Relationships by Marshall Rosenberg

• Science of Storytelling: Why Stories Make Us Human and How to Tell Them Better by Will Storr

• The Synonym Finder by J.I. Rodale, et al

👀 Browse the bookstore.

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Connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter | Mister Editorial archive | editorshaun@gmail.com

Disclaimer: Besides running Mister Editorial, I work in employee comms at Splunk. The views in this newsletter are my own.