After nine years in internal communications, I went freelance to focus on the bit I liked best: writing. I still draw on my comms experience every day – so I thought I’d share some of the takeaways that have made me a better writer.
1. Everyone’s in a hurry
“Sorry, must have missed that.” “Oh yeah, I did mean to look at it but something came up.”
Sound familiar? It can get you down when people can’t seem to spare a few minutes to read your painstakingly crafted words. But it’s not just an internal comms problem – whoever you’re writing for, you’re competing against hundreds of other demands on their attention.
Here are some quick tips to give your message a fighting chance:
- Come up with an attention-grabbing (but not click-baity!) headline
- Get straight to the point – picture the “upside down pyramid”, where you start with the main message and then move down into the finer detail
- Keep it concise – aim for short paragraphs and waffle-free sentences
- Use subheadings to highlight key points and help readers navigate
- Consider including a brief synopsis or key takeaways, so people get the gist (and hopefully feel inspired to read more)
2. What’s in it for me?
“I am pleased to announce that Project Snoozefest has been completed on time and on budget, following six months of work by Team Thingummy and Team Whatsit.”
If you’ve worked in internal comms, you’ll have seen more than your fair share of draft articles that open like this. Before droning on through a bunch of “key milestones” of interest to no one but the project manager.
But as a reader, all you’re thinking is: what does this mean for ME? Why should I care about it? What am I being asked to do here, and why should I bother?
This is why internal comms plans often start with what you want the audience to think (or know), feel and do. And you can apply this in the outside world, too.
If there’s a specific action required, great – spell it out, along with the benefits of completing it (book now to guarantee your space; sign up to get the latest news).
If you don’t have an immediate call to action, the big question is: so what? The key is to find an angle your audience can relate to and engage with. Clue: it’s usually about people. Improved the company’s website? That means a more enjoyable experience for customers, and fewer frustrated calls for the helpdesk folk to handle. Reduced your environmental impact? Then both colleagues and customers can feel good about choosing you.
3. Tone matters
It’s no secret that a consistent tone of voice builds brand recognition and trust. But consistency doesn’t have to mean writing like a robot.
When you work in internal comms, you can be writing a redundancy announcement in the morning and a bake sale promotion in the afternoon. It all needs to be on brand (just because you’re launching a “fun” event, there’s no call for a flurry of exclamation marks in Comic Sans). But you can be sensitive to your audience by dialling elements of your tone up or down.
Similarly, you’ll write on behalf of various different people – something I also do as a freelancer. Listening to the way people speak, and picking up on their little turns of phrase, is a good way to inject a bit more personality without colouring too far outside the lines.
4. FAQs are your friend
Some say that if you need an FAQ section (frequently asked questions), your comms haven’t done their job properly.
But see point 1 – people want the facts, fast, and sometimes trying to cover every possible nuance can detract from your overall message. It may be that once people have digested the key points, they want to dig deeper into particular aspects relevant to them.
For FAQs that add value:
- DO put yourself in your reader’s shoes and consider genuine questions they might have
- DO ask yourself whether these would be better addressed in the main copy
- DON’T just shoehorn in questions to fit the answers you want to give
- DON’T bury critical information in an FAQ – it’s likely not everyone will look at it
5. It’s a team effort
In my little freelance bubble, I’ve sometimes written copy, sent it off and never seen or heard of it again.
Back in my internal comms days, though, I’d be responsible for a piece of content from planning right through to publication. So I know how complex that journey can be: with shifting priorities and an army of stakeholders to consult, the pain of the sign-off loop is real (“Is that still version 14? We’re on version 16 now!”).
I recognise that I’m just one piece of the puzzle, so I try to make my client’s life that little bit easier by being responsive and helpful. Remembering this also helps me keep things in perspective: while I’d obviously love all my copy to be greeted with a round of applause and zero edits, I understand changes happen for all sorts of reasons, and don’t mean I’ve done a terrible job.
When I left internal comms, I couldn’t bring my work with me (confidentiality, innit). But I did bring years of writing experience that I can apply in different scenarios. If you’d like help with words for an internal or external audience, get in touch.
Kate Mounce 