Nourish Your Team with Sound Bites
Take a proactive approach to internal communication

Some of your employees may be underfed. They may look okay when you pass them in the hall or visit with them over lunch, but when it comes to internal communications they are undernourished.

Your team members are talking to customers and acquaintances every day, and they will
freely share information—even if they don’t have all the facts. As with most ailments, it’s best to address this condition by being proactive rather than reactive.

• Prepare in advance a one-page written version of your business strategy or communication initiative. Use bold type and underlines to highlight the key points and themes.
  
  
• Prepare a sheet with several sound bites that may be shared informally with any audience—customers, family members, friends. Write in a positive, conversational tone and include descriptions of stakeholder benefits.
  

Ask supervisors to schedule small group meetings with their team members. Prep supervisors in advance if time allows, or send an email with the one-page handouts attached—so they have the information they need for a brief team meeting.

You can use a standard FAQ format for the sheet with sound bites, and ask team members to contemplate the precise wording of key words and phrases. Even better, suggest that team members post the sound bites in their work spaces or next to their phones—so they can reference them in conversations.

For significant initiatives it may be appropriate to conduct a full group meeting—supported with banners, refreshments and handout sheets. Leaders can explain the initiative and share the sound bites.

Every employee can be a spokesperson for the organization’s strategies and initiatives—and they will embrace the role more readily if you serve up the sound bites. Be cautious about overcooking the recipe. Sound bites aren’t soufflés. Rather, they deliver simple, routine nourishment—like one’s daily bread.

Crawford/Mikus offers a full range of marketing, sales and communication services, from brand execution to selling tools, and we implement end-to-end solutions across all media-from concept to execution. We’ll help define your visual voice, and we’ll convert your business goals into solutions that deliver bottom line results. Click on the Contact Us button to the left or call 404.875.7753 to speak directly with Scott Mikus.