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Marcus Wermuth
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Marcus Wermuth

Virtual Leadership

4y ago

Digital Writer | Author | Leadership Coach | Engineering Manager @remote | Coffee Lover

6 steps for better written communication in companies
Marcus Wermuth

Written communication is a forgotten skill when it comes to virtual collaboration. Especially in organisations that work more asynchronous and have a documentation first culture.

I developed a practice, that I use every time when I need to write something towards the rest of the organisation. Having seen various ways of written communication, in the past two globally distributed companies that I worked in, Buffer and Remote.com,

Elements of a great message: Headline, Message Body, Links & Images, TLDR, Request.

1. First of all, have a purpose!

  • What are you trying to achieve with this message?

  • This will take up time - can it wait?

  • Is there a shorter way in solving it?

  • If I get people to take one action after reading this, what would it be?

2. Make sure to have all the context.

  • Give a one-sentence explanation of the message in the headline, so it is clear what you are talking about and if people need to read it. The shorter the better.

  • Share all essential information, everything that you think could help the people on the other end.

3. Be as concise as possible

  • Don't hold back the ask or request and make it clear. Get to the point.

  • Don't add unnecessary comments or use big words to sound smart. Short sentences always work best. But don't forget to make it fun if you want.

  • Use images or other related material.

  • Finish with "No Action required" if that is the case so people won't be confused.

4. Repeat the important part

  • Reiterate what you need from people.

  • Add a TLDR; once you are done writing.

  • Finish with the request and put it into "bold".

5. Share it

  • Post or share the message.

  • If time and energy allows, record a Loom video or a screen capture detailing what you just wrote. Some people consume messages easier in an auditory or visual way.

6. Be open for feedback

  • People might have opinions on what you just wrote. Be open and engaging.

  • Listen and then listen more.

  • Edit or fix errors in your message.

How about you? Do you have a practice when writing messages in your company?

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