Communicating your intentions can help you get more out of the content you share
Have you ever come across a shared link in a Slack channel or email that piqued your interest, but you weren’t sure why the person shared it or what they wanted you to do with it? Maybe the message was something like, “Hey, you should check this out, it’s really interesting!” Without any context or explanation, it can be difficult to know what to do with the shared content.
While it’s easy to assume that people will click on a shared link just because it’s been shared, the reality is that people are often too busy or skeptical to engage with content that they don’t fully understand.
When people simply scroll past a shared link without clicking through, it can have a negative impact on both the individual who shared it and the organization as a whole.
For the individual, it can be discouraging to share content that they find interesting or valuable, only to have it go unnoticed. Over time, this can lead to a decreased willingness to share content, as the person may feel that their efforts are going to waste.
Also, when content is shared within an organization, it’s often done with the goal of improving knowledge sharing and collaboration. When people don’t engage with the shared content, this goal is not met, and the organization misses out on the potential benefits of having a more informed and collaborative workforce.
So, what can you do to ensure that your shared content is actually read and acted upon?
The key is to communicate your intentions behind the sharing. When you take the time to clearly communicate why you’re sharing the content and what you want people to do with it, you can unlock the full potential of the content.
Here are a few ways to do this, according to your motivations when sharing something :
Share information/learnings
In that case, it’s best to give a summary and/or your takeaways like it’s done in some newsletters. You can also highlight what you learned from it. By doing so, you’re not only providing value to those who haven’t read the article but also avoiding those who already have this knowledge to waste their time.
Example :
My Typical Tactics for Influencing Leaders at Different Levels
If you try to understand others’ pains and challenges, it’s much easier to find ways to increase your impact and deliver value. You don’t need to convince (they already are), but rather explain the end result and milestones to get there. Tell them what you plan on doing and taking, and what you need from them.
(Summary taken from the SWLW newsletter)
Addressing specific challenges or needs
Another way to make your content sharing more impactful is to address specific challenges or needs. For example, if your team has been struggling with managing interruptions from developers, sharing an article on how to manage interruptions could be helpful. By providing context for why the content is relevant, you increase the chances that your colleagues will read it and find it valuable.
Example :
https://www.infoq.com/articles/co-creation-patterns-software-development/
Hello ! We discussed a lot the ideal pull request size during the last sprint retro. This article explains well the new challenges we’ll face when PR sizes will become very very small and how we will be able to circumvent them.
Expecting actions to be taken after reading an article
For example, an article explains some security challenges to overcome. In that case, be clear about what actions you expect people to take after reading the article. By doing so, you’re providing a clear call-to-action that will motivate people to read the article and take action afterward.
Example :
Hi everyone, this online course service offers free Typescript training next week, I think we should sign up to anticipate the future migration
Initiate a debate
Highlight the parts that intrigued you and why. End the share by asking a question to start a discussion. By doing so, you’re encouraging people to engage with the article and each other, which can lead to deeper insights and shared learnings.
Example :
https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/2022/theory-building/
Hello, this article on employee churn and the consequences was really eye-opening for me. There is this interesting notion of “first-generation programmers”. IYO, Who are they in our organization?
Additionally, providing some additional context, such as who the target audience is or the estimated reading time, can further increase the likelihood of your content being read and acted upon.
In conclusion, communicating your intentions when sharing content is crucial to getting more out of your content sharing. Remember to be specific about your intentions and provide additional context when necessary. By doing so, you can ensure that the content you share is not only seen but also acted upon by the intended audience.
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