Impactful Change Communications. Systemised. Reimagined. Here’s how.
Great writing is impressive and influential. Who has an edge in their business communications? Anyone from a communications background. Their obsession with images and words for the greatest impact pays off. Professionals with a legal background know the power of careful word choice. Careful editing and planning are as important as making that vital first draft.
It is only now (in my 40s) that I realise big words and complicated thoughts are not powerful. Thanks to the feedback of patient (and not so patient) bosses I learned to pare back my word count. Due to the ruthless efficiency of Hemingway app, my coaching in Plain English is constant.
How did I learn to improve the quality of my change communications?
I realised that I would approach my writing with tension. How many business professionals approached public speaking with a similar mindset? How often did this approach work for them? To prepare to write, I would take a “let’s get this over and done with” mentality. How often can we excel at something when it is a source of tension?
My tension had been a learned behaviour. Even so, I had always been in a bit of a hurry. I would write as I thought. Unfortunately for my reader, this meant they had to consume many complicated ideas. My stream of consciousness was hard for readers to digest. Complex ideas intermingled in a single sentence.
Since then I have learned to relax and enjoy the process as much as possible. In recent projects, I have had a great team with who I could bounce my communication drafts off. This has made a huge difference. My team would help me beat each message into shape.
Being a systems geek, I love the idea of systems working for me. A good system acts as a force multiplier. Systems also often have built-in validations or quality checks. Are you working on projects with staggered go-lives covering different cohorts with similar needs? Let a communication system come to your rescue.
One source for your draft communications sequence
Say for example we are rolling out [System A]. This system will be introduced to cohort #1, a small pilot group within my organisation. After this, cohort # 2 receives [System A]. Then cohort # 3. Each cohort uses this future state in the same way. Yet each cohort may have minor differences in the messages we send to them.
A communication system in this case may be a single Google Doc. This document holds a sequence of communication for cohort # 1. Your sequence spans initial awareness communications through to weeks beyond [System A’s] go live. Google Docs are brilliant for sharing with your team, especially if you keep the same file throughout your project.
In time you “train” your document reviewers in your project team to go to the same source. It’s even quite a lot of fun when you are drafting a document and you see your colleague’s mouse cursor hover over sections of the text. I tend to have a bit of a chat with them by typing into the Google document itself!
I may have a separate document to hold associated images and graphical messages for this communication sequence. I tend to use Canva for this type of work, although Microsoft PowerPoint can also do the job.
As you can see, communication systems don’t need to be elaborate. The above communication system helps with the structure. What about systematising the content of our change communications?
Copywriters are an inspiration
I have also learned to take a leaf from the playbook of expert wordsmiths-copywriters. Copywriters “sell with words”, and I have enormous respect for professionals in this role. Recently, artificial intelligence systems gave business professionals valuable tools. For instance, access to dozens of potential slogans or creative ways to describe our future state. These systems also use common copywriting structures such as the AIDA and PAS frameworks.
As you can see below, the AIDA framework structures change communications. Individual components are statements intended to inspire attention, interest, desire and action. The PAS framework takes a different approach. PAS frames the problem first, agitating the reader. With increased audience emotions, PAS then solves the problem.
What do we need to begin systematising the content of our change communications?
I take inspiration from the advertising industry. Their idea of pre-production is a powerful one. Here’s an excerpt from my book The Change Manager’s Companion. This excerpt covers pre-production and the steps I take to bring together key variables for my change communications.
The above image suggests several “steps” to bring together the key variables for your change communications.
What are your change goals? What behaviours do your change need to influence? Work backwards from the “moment of victory”. What change interventions get you between now and this “moment of victory”? What message themes do you need throughout the project lifecycle?
Locking down the features and benefits of your future state is important for “selling” the merits of your change. Presumably to a change fatigued and disinterested audience to boot.
- Needless to say, we need the name of our system or future state. This may seem obvious, but I have been on projects where the name of the future state is still in debate.
- Interact with your future state.
- Put yourself in the shoes of different audiences who will use the future state.
- Identify several features.
- Describe the benefit resulting from each feature.
- Workshop each feature and benefit with a representative sample of your audience.
- Listen for how they describe each feature and benefit.
- Have your audience representatives rank each feature by the impact on their daily working life.
- Your change communications can lead with top-ranked features and benefits.
- Think about the specific behaviours that you want your target audience to ultimately adopt. It could be something like logging into the new system when it is available, then using the system on a daily basis. What does using the system look like? What specific system skills will someone need?
The final point helps you think through from the “moment of victory on the battlefield”. What victory? When you influence the behaviours of hundreds or thousands of employees. Or why you are paid to front up to a project to lead change (if this is your role).
You can then think backwards from your “moment of victory” — with sound imagination. How will an average person reading your communication sequence perceives and responds to each message? What call to action should each message in your sequence contain? What increasing levels of detail do you need to impart in later communications in your sequence?
The first nine points may allow you to craft a statement like the one below. This statement is a basic awareness communication. To me it provides the core information your audience may need to know:
Introducing [System A]. This new system streamlines your administration, avoids double-handling and is easy to use. We will inform you about and train you in [System A], so you are comfortable in using [System A] for your daily work. Please go to www.projectsite.com.au for more information.
Artificial Intelligence (AI) to the rescue
I used a copywriting artificial intelligence system called Rytr to generate three examples of both the AIDA and PAS copywriting frameworks. It’s not perfect, but it does give you a great example of how artificial intelligence can help you if you feel like you have writer’s block:
Attention: We know that you work with many different systems and we hope that this one will make your work easier and less stressful
Interest: [System A] was designed to be easy to use, so your staff won’t have to learn a new system each time they need to learn a new skill
Desire: The best of both worlds, this system is available as either a cloud-based or on-premise solution. Choose the one that best suits your needs and circumstances.
Action: Visit www.projectsite.com.au for more information about [System A]
Or how about this one?
Attention: Introducing [System A]
Desire: Reduced admin load and double handling.
Easy to use and time saving. Cost effective and future proofed.
Action: Visit www.projectsite.com.au to find out more!
The PAS framework is also helpful:
Problem: Administration is a major time-slave in nearly every organisation. Your current system may not be the best option.
Agitate: The right tool for the job is often hindered by inefficiencies, lack of organization or lack of team knowledge to [achieve goal].
Solve: Introducing [System A]. We have created a new way to streamline your administration to prevent double handling and make life easier for you. It has been designed specifically to be easy to learn and use. Go to www.projectsite.com.au for more information on how this new system will get you up and running!
Or how about this example?
Problem: [Audience job role] is a tough, complicated job that requires a lot of time and effort. It’s difficult to keep up with all the new technologies and processes, and it takes a toll on your time and energy.
Agitate: Learning a new system is an overwhelming process and you’ll be better off without it. With [System A], you will be able to make good use of every minute of the day. Drop back-end administration tasks, saving your sanity, and doing more of what you love.
Solve: Introducing [System A], the latest admin system designed to save you time and hassle. It’s easy to learn and operate with intuitive workflows that adapt to your needs as an [audience job role].
Perhaps the same artificial intelligence copywriting systems can also write a snazzy headline to go with this content?
A new system. For a better user experience for [audience job role]s everywhere.
Clever is easy. Find out how — [System A] is on the way.
Modernize your administration: [System A] is on the way.
The easy way to get your work done. [System A]
Is it time for a change? Introducing [System A]
Twice the efficiency, half the effort: [System A] for [audience job role].
Admittedly, I made some minor tweaks to the above AI-generated headlines. I gain no benefit in selling the merits of Rytr or other artificial intelligence copywriting systems. Yet at work, I can see the emerging benefits of these tools for a range of business careers, not only project or change professionals.
It is easy for me to get carried away with the broad range of uses of man-made and artificial intelligence systems for better communications. Will AI applications take away our role as wordsmiths or leaders of change? Nope.
AI applications like Rytr are great for devising short statements. Yet they falter when drafting long-form content. They cannot perform the research you can. Nor does AI join the dots amongst seemingly unrelated concepts for your change communications. AI cannot use empathy to see if a draft message resonates with your audience.
Could they write an article containing interlinked concepts like the ones here? Not yet. Like AI, could one of an infinite number of monkeys typing away at a typewriter end up producing the complete works of Shakespeare?
I hope you enjoyed this novel yet practical approach to devising change communications.
Preview the first chapter of our book — The Change Manager’s Companion.
Our book — The Change Manager’s Companion — is available now. You can also check out our online course on Change Management.
