Internal Communications Writer

Overview

This skill helps you write all kinds of internal company communications using standardized formats. It covers 3P updates (Progress, Plans, Problems), company-wide newsletters, FAQ compilations, and general internal comms. Each format has specific guidelines for tone, structure, and content sourcing to ensure consistency across the organization.

When to Use

• Writing 3P updates (Progress, Plans, Problems)
• Drafting company-wide newsletters
• Compiling FAQ responses
• Creating status reports or leadership updates
• Writing project updates or incident reports
• Any internal communication that needs a standard format

Communication Types

1. 3P Updates (Progress, Plans, Problems)

Audience: Executives, leadership, teammates with limited context on your team.

Purpose: Succinct team status readable in 30-60 seconds. Covers one week of work.

Format (strict):

[emoji] [Team Name] (Dates Covered)
Progress: [1-3 sentences]
Plans: [1-3 sentences]
Problems: [1-3 sentences]

Content guidelines:

• Progress: What the team accomplished. Focus on shipped features, milestones achieved, tasks completed.
• Plans: What the team will do next week. Focus on top-of-mind, high-priority items.
• Problems: What is slowing the team down. Blockers, staffing gaps, bugs, deals that fell through.

Scale matters: The bigger the team, the less granular the tasks. A mobile team might have "shipped feature" while the company level might have "closed 10 new deals."

Tone: Matter-of-fact, data-driven, include metrics where possible. Not prose-heavy.

Data sources (if available):

• Slack: Posts from team members with lots of reactions
• Google Drive: Docs from critical team members with lots of views
• Email: High-engagement emails with relevant content
• Calendar: Non-recurring meetings of importance (product reviews, etc.)

Workflow:

1. Clarify team name and time period
2. Gather information from tools or the user
3. Draft following the strict format
4. Review for conciseness (30-60 second read) and data-driven content

2. Company Newsletter

Audience: Entire company (1000+ people).

Purpose: Summarize the past week/month for the whole organization. Sent via Slack and email.

Format: 20-25 bullet points, organized into sections with emoji headers.

:megaphone: Company Announcements
- Announcement 1
- Announcement 2

:dart: Progress on Priorities
- Area 1
    - Sub-area 1
    - Sub-area 2
- Area 2
    - Sub-area 1

:pillar: Leadership Updates
- Post 1
- Post 2

:thread: Social Updates
- Update 1
- Update 2

Content guidelines:

• Each bullet should be 1-2 sentences maximum
• Use "we" tense -- you are part of the company
• Include lots of links (Google Drive docs, Slack messages, emails)
• Break into sections covering different areas of the company

Prioritize:

• Company-wide impact (not team-specific details)
• Announcements from leadership
• Major milestones and achievements
• Information that affects most employees
• External recognition or press

Avoid:

• Overly granular team updates (save for 3Ps)
• Information only relevant to small groups
• Duplicate information already communicated

Data sources (if available):

• Slack: Messages in large channels with lots of reactions/responses
• Email: Company-wide announcements from executives
• Calendar: Large meetings (All-Hands, company announcements), attached documents
• Documents: High-attention docs (vision docs, quarterly plans, executive-authored)
• External press: Articles or press coverage from the past week

3. FAQ Responses

Audience: All employees.

Purpose: Surface and answer the most common questions across the company to minimize confusion and keep everyone aligned.

Format:

- *Question*: [1 sentence]
- *Answer*: [1-2 sentences]

Content guidelines:

• Focus on questions that affect a large portion of the employee base
• Cover areas like: corporate events (fundraising, new executives), upcoming launches, hiring progress, changes to vision or focus
• Be holistic -- capture the entire company, not just one team
• Base answers on official communications when possible
• If information is uncertain, indicate that clearly
• Link to authoritative sources
• Keep tone professional but approachable
• Flag questions requiring executive input

Data sources (if available):

• Slack: Questions with lots of reactions or support
• Email: FAQs written directly in company emails
• Documents: Docs on Google Drive, linked on calendar events

4. General Communications

Purpose: Any internal communication that does not fit the standard formats above.

Before writing, clarify:

1. Target audience
2. Communication purpose
3. Desired tone (formal, casual, urgent, informational)
4. Specific formatting requirements

General principles:

• Be clear and concise
• Use active voice
• Put the most important information first
• Include relevant links and references
• Match the company's communication style

Workflow Summary

1. Identify the communication type from the request
2. Load the appropriate guidelines (3P, newsletter, FAQ, or general)
3. Gather information from available tools or directly from the user
4. Draft following the specific format and tone guidelines
5. Review for conciseness, accuracy, and appropriate level of detail

If the communication type is unclear, ask for clarification about the desired format and audience.