
Writing Guide
Our aim is to help you write clearly, consistently – and creatively – in a way that is relevant to your audience (whoever they may be).
Purpose | Typical audience | Pros | Cons | Can you do it yourself? | Thinking points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Our Co-CEOs and other senior leaders send these regular (and well-read) communications to DSM colleagues | All DSM colleagues | If you can grab a paragraph in a leadership newsletter there’s a high chance your message will be seen | You’ll have limited space to get your message across, and editorial decisions are not ultimately controlled by you | Yes | Make sure that your topic is relevant, with a good fit for your chosen leadership communication |
Our two leaders Geraldine Matchett and Dimitri de Vreeze send a periodic email to all employees (as do leaders of our Business Groups, sites and functions). Could it be that your message fits with topics covered in one of these updates? Of course, leadership communications like this are used sparingly to avoid overkill. But if your message fits…why not grab a paragraph – and the chance to reach a large, highly engaged audience.
Think about your audience; can you share your messages properly and reach them via this channel? Check out the comparison notes below and weigh the pros versus cons. This will help you decide how to spend your time/ money for the best result.
Things to keep in mind
How will you know ‘what success looks like’? Measuring the response to this channel /tool could give you a better understanding of whether you’ve reached your communication objective. KPIs can be qualitative or quantitative. Here are some ideas:
If this a stand-alone initiative, then go ahead! However, if this is part of a wider initiative, you might want to take a step back and look at the broader communications perspective. A good starting point is our 9-step approach to creating your communication plan - which includes an overview of all the internal channels and tools.
Our aim is to help you write clearly, consistently – and creatively – in a way that is relevant to your audience (whoever they may be).
Email is a tried & tested way of sending secure messages quickly, to a wide audience.
They say a picture is worth a thousand words – and for good reason - the smart choice of imagery can help you create a compelling and memorable message.