How internal communicators can thrive and deliver results in 2022

This year, I interviewed 40 internal communications professionals. I asked all of them the same questions to learn about their experiences, projects and perspectives.

This December, I took a look back at one question in particular:

What skills are most important for someone to succeed in internal communications?

After tallying and analyzing their responses, I created a top 10 skills list — excluding the basic skills of strong editing and writing. Many other important honorable mentions didn’t make the top 10 list, but are listed at the bottom of this article.

To show why these skills matter, I selected specific quotes from interviews. It was very difficult to narrow down the list as there were so many insightful comments. Each featured quote links to the full article.

These skills are important for internal communications professionals — and anyone who communicates internally at an organization. Here’s to growing, learning and strengthening skills for success.

1. Listening 

“Instead of being called ‘Internal Communications,’ it should be called ‘Internal Listening.’ Your ears are your best friends in this function.” -Sean Langston, Jr.