5 questions to ask before crafting your internal comms message

Chances are, you’ve been through training programs to improve writing or presentation skills.

And most all of them probably started with one or both of these platitudes:

Well and good. But how to do those things warrants a few more specifics. To drill into what audience analysis and your purpose actually entail, ask yourself these key questions:

1. Do I have a single reader or multiple readers?

How many people are on your distribution list? Do you have pass-on readership? Are you writing “through” several people who must approve your email, report or proposal before it goes to the reader(s)?

If you have mixed audiences, rank readers in order of importance. The most important reader gets the information first. Secondary readers must read further into the document to find information they may need.

2. What’s the message of interest to my reader(s)?

How many times have you heard someone say (most often with a long sigh), “I know what I want to say; I just can’t explain it.”