| name | comms |
| description | Writing for specific audiences: leadership, peers, team, and org-wide. Use when: preparing an executive briefing, writing a team newsletter, communicating up/down/ laterally, announcing a launch or change, escalating an issue, delivering difficult messages, pushing back on a request, or building team visibility across the org. |
| tags | ["manager","communication","general","executive"] |
Communications
When to Use
- Preparing an executive briefing or leadership update
- Writing a team or org newsletter
- Announcing a launch, migration, or deprecation
- Managing expectations when timelines slip
- Negotiating priorities with peers or product
- Escalating a blocking issue
- Delivering difficult messages
- Building team visibility across the org
For recurring status updates (weekly, monthly, quarterly), see the status-updates skill.
Principles
- Know your audience — tailor depth, language, and framing
- Lead with "so what" — why should this person care? Start there.
- Be direct — state your point in the first 2 sentences
- Propose, don't just present — come with a recommendation
- Quantify — numbers build credibility
- Close the loop — end with a clear next step or ask
Writing for Each Audience
Upward (Manager, VP, Exec)
They care about: business impact, risks, decisions needed, confidence level.
Executive Briefing
## [Topic] — [Date]
### Bottom Line
[1–2 sentences: the key message. Most important thing first.]
### Context
[2–3 sentences: enough background to understand]
### Options
| Option | Pros | Cons | Effort | Rec |
|--------|------|------|--------|-----|
| A | ... | ... | ... | ← |
| B | ... | ... | ... | |
### Recommendation
[Which option and why — 2 sentences]
### Ask
[Specific: "I need a decision by Friday" or "Approve option A"]
Tips:
- Don't bury the lede — if the project is off track, say so first
- Frame problems with solutions — "X is at risk. My plan: Y"
- Use their language (revenue, retention) not yours (story points, tech debt)
- Pre-wire important decisions — align with your manager before the VP meeting
Lateral (Peer EMs, PMs, Designers)
They care about: dependencies, shared priorities, capacity, coordination.
## [Topic] — Cross-Team Update
### Context
[What's happening and why it affects both teams]
### Our Plan
[What we're doing and our timeline]
### What We Need From You
[Specific, timeboxed asks]
### What You Can Expect From Us
[Deliverables and dates]
### Open Questions
[Things to resolve together]
Tips:
- Be transparent about constraints
- Negotiate, don't mandate — you have influence, not authority
- Document agreements — follow up Slack with a written summary or email
- Proactive > reactive
Downward (Your Team)
They care about: context, impact on their work, recognition, honesty.
Tips:
- Share context generously — the "why" matters more than the "what"
- Be transparent about uncertainty
- Celebrate publicly, coach privately
- Don't sugarcoat — teams respect honesty
- Repeat important messages across channels
Org-Wide (Broad Audience)
They care about: high-level impact, customer stories, team culture.
Keep it accessible to non-engineers. Good for team visibility and recruiting.
Newsletter Format
Cadence: bi-weekly or monthly
Channel: Slack, email, or Confluence
Length: 3–5 minutes to read
# [Team Name] Update — [Date]
## Wins
- [Win with impact] — [brief context]
- [Win with impact]
## What's Coming
- [Initiative] — expected by [date], enables [outcome]
## By the Numbers
- [Metric]: [current] (from [previous])
## Spotlight
[Person or topic] — [what happened and why it matters]
## Links
- [Confluence page, demo recording, or dashboard]
Rules:
- Lead with impact, not effort
- Name people — recognition builds morale and visibility
- Include visuals when possible — charts, screenshots
- Keep it scannable — bullets, headers, bold key phrases
- Consistent cadence — same schedule every time
Announcements (launches, deprecations, changes)
# [Announcement Title]
## What's Changing
[1–2 sentences]
## Why
[1–2 sentences]
## Impact
[Who is affected and how]
## Timeline
| Date | Milestone |
|------|-----------|
## What You Need to Do
[Numbered action items]
## Questions?
[Slack channel, FAQ link, contact person]
Post the announcement before the change, not after.
Escalation
Before Escalating
- Attempt to resolve at the current level
- Document the issue, impact, and what you've tried
- Notify the other party that you plan to escalate
Escalation Message
## Escalation: [Issue]
### Situation
[Factual, no editorializing]
### Impact
[Business impact: customers, revenue, timeline]
### What We've Tried
[Steps taken]
### What We Need
[Specific decision or action]
### Timeline
[Urgency: "Need a decision by EOD"]
Stick to facts. Quantify impact. Propose a path forward.
Pushing Back
"I understand the importance of [their request]. Here's the trade-off:
taking this on would mean [what we'd deprioritize].
My recommendation is [alternative]. If [their request] is the higher
priority, I'm open to adjusting — I want to make sure we're making
that trade-off intentionally."
Delivering Bad News
- Be direct — "We're going to miss the deadline by two weeks"
- Own it — acknowledge what your team could have done differently
- Bring a plan — bad news + recovery plan is 10× better than bad news alone
- Give advance notice — get ahead of it
Anti-Patterns
| Anti-Pattern | Fix |
|---|
| Burying bad news | Lead with the most important item |
| Problems without solutions | Always propose a path forward |
| Jargon with execs | Translate to business language |
| Vague asks | Make every ask specific and actionable |
| Over-communicating | Match detail to audience; less is more for execs |
| Forgetting to name people | Always credit individuals |
Related Skills
- status-updates — Recurring cadence-based updates
- planning — Presenting plans to stakeholders
- meeting-facilitation — Running effective meetings
- inbox-management — Triaging incoming communications
