
The first page of Thomas Paine's pamphlet "Common Sense," which appeared in 1776. In the first three months of publication, it sold 120,000 copies, which is impressive when one considers that the entire population of the Colonies at the time was under 3 million, many of whom were illiterate. That's one copy for every 25 inhabitants. Common Sense became the best-selling printed work by a single author in American history up to that time, illustrating the power of the written word.
Your internal newsletter isn't likely to achieve such broad social impact, but it can nevertheless exhibit the power of the written word by keeping your stakeholders well informed about the issues and progress of efforts for which you're responsible. Photo courtesy WikiPedia.
Whether you're responsible for a project, a department, a division, or a company, publishing an internal newsletter — by email, Web page, SharePoint, Facebook, whatever — can be an effective means of keeping stakeholders informed about what has happened, what is happening, what you believe will happen, and what you believe won't happen.
A newsletter can become the authoritative source of information about the effort. Although it can establish you as someone who truly understands the importance of stakeholder relations, there is a risk. You don't want to flood readers with information they consider irrelevant to their special interests.
Here are some tips for creating a newsletter that informs but does not overwhelm your stakeholders.
- Keeping people in the dark is expensive
- If you don't keep stakeholders informed, you're leaving space for them to make stuff up. Publishing what you do know is far more effective than letting others make up what they don't know.
- Make it a quick list of short items
- Limit the length of each item to the length of a tweet — about 140 characters. Most people don't want to read long dissertations.
- Make each item a headline, nothing more
- Full explanations are unnecessary. Each item can be little more than a teaser to let the reader know what the impact is. Use the "So What?" test to develop a headline. See "Deliver the Headline First," Point Lookout for May 3, 2006, for more.
- Include a link to a more detailed explanation
- Since some people do need more detail, you must provide it, but don't subject everyone to the full story. Write a more detailed explanation for your intranet site and link to it in the newsletter.
- Squelching rumors is perfectly acceptable
- Some people feel that denying rumors gives them wider circulation, but if you've heard the rumor, almost everyone else has, too, and thus wider circulation isn't really an issue. Squelch rumors, but be right about what you say. See "There Is No Rumor Mill," Point Lookout for March 26, 2003, for more.
- Get out in front of rumors
- If you'll Some people feel that denying
rumors gives them wider circulation,
but if you've heard the rumor,
almost everyone else has, toobe doing something that you expect will be controversial, why wait for rumors to form? If you get there first with real information, you're less likely to have to deal with rumors. - Feature people and teams who contribute to success
- Short features describing the talents and contributions of key people are interesting to your stakeholders for the same reasons that features are interesting to news consumers in the media generally. Give the enterprise the information they need to gain a true appreciation of the efforts of the people you feature.
- Feature new people
- Use your newsletter to introduce people who are new to the effort. Tell your stakeholders about their background and about the contributions you anticipate.
Whatever you decide to do, have your newsletter reviewed by someone who has a grasp of good writing, relevant content, and the needs of your readers. Top
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Related articles
More articles on Effective Communication at Work:
When You Aren't Supposed to Say: I
- Most of us have information that's "company confidential," or possibly even more sensitive
than that. When we encounter individuals who try to extract that information, we're better able to protect
it if we know their techniques.
Comfort Zone Discomfort
- The phrase "comfort zone" is a metaphor that can distort how we think about situations in
which we feel comfortable and confident. Here are four examples illustrating how the metaphor distorts
our thinking.
High Falutin' Goofy Talk: III
- Workplace speech and writing sometimes strays into the land of pretentious but overused business phrases,
which I like to call "high falutin' goofy talk." We use these phrases with perhaps less thought
than they deserve, because they can be trite or can evoke indecorous images. Here's Part III of a collection
of phrases and images to avoid.
Unintended Condescension: I
- Condescending remarks can deflect almost any conversation into destructive directions. The lost productivity
is especially painful when the condescension is unintended. Here are two examples of remarks that others
might hear as condescension, but which often aren't intended as such.
Unintended Condescension: II
- Intentionally making condescending remarks is something most of us do only when we lose control. But
anyone at any time can inadvertently make a remark that someone else experiences as condescending. We
explored two patterns to avoid last time. Here are two more.
See also Effective Communication at Work and Project Management for more related articles.
Forthcoming issues of Point Lookout
Coming January 20: Anticipating Absence: Quarantine and Isolation
- When the pandemic compels some knowledge workers to quarantine or isolate, we tend to treat them as if they were totally unavailable. But if they're willing and able to work, even part-time, they might be able to continue to contribute. To make this happen, work out conditions in advance. Available here and by RSS on January 20.
And on January 27: Cost Concerns: Comparisons
- When we assess the costs of different options for solving a problem, we must take care not to commit a variety of errors in approach. These errors can lead to flawed decisions. One activity at risk for error is comparing the costs of two options. Available here and by RSS on January 27.
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- The Power Affect: How We Express Our Personal Power
Many
people who possess real organizational power have a characteristic demeanor. It's the way they project their presence. I call this the power affect. Some people — call them power pretenders — adopt the power affect well before they attain significant organizational power. Unfortunately for their colleagues, and for their organizations, power pretenders can attain organizational power out of proportion to their merit or abilities. Understanding the power affect is therefore important for anyone who aims to attain power, or anyone who works with power pretenders. Read more about this program.
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- A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
- A recording of a program presented June 29, 2017, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
- Bullet Points: Mastery or Madness?
Decis
ion-makers in modern organizations commonly demand briefings in the form of bullet points or a series of series of bullet points. But this form of presentation has limited value for complex decisions. We need something more. We actually need to think. Briefers who combine the bullet-point format with a variety of persuasion techniques can mislead decision-makers, guiding them into making poor decisions. Read more about this program.
- A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
- A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
- A recording of a program presented June 24, 2020, Monthly
Webinar, sponsored by Technobility
Webinar Series. PMI members can earn 1.0 Category 'A' PDU by viewing this program. View this program now.
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