internal-comms

name	internal-comms
description	Writes clear, appropriately-toned internal communications including project status updates, company newsletters, all-hands summaries, incident reports, FAQs, onboarding docs, and team announcements. Use when writing anything meant for a colleague, team, or company-wide audience.

Internal Comms

A framework for writing internal communications that get read, understood, and acted on. Different formats for different audiences and purposes.

Format Guide

Project Status Update (weekly/bi-weekly)

Structure: RAG status → progress → blockers → next steps

## [Project Name] — [Date]
Status: 🟢 On track / 🟡 At risk / 🔴 Blocked

**This week**
- [What was completed]

**Next week**
- [What's planned]

**Blockers / Decisions needed**
- [Specific ask, tagged to a person if applicable]

**ETA to milestone**: [Date or "TBD — see blockers"]

Incident / Post-Mortem Communication

Structure: What happened → Impact → Timeline → Root cause → Actions

## Incident Report: [Brief title]
**Date**: [Date]
**Severity**: [P0/P1/P2]
**Duration**: [Start → Resolution]

**What happened**
[2-3 sentences. Plain language. No jargon.]

**Impact**
- Affected: [users, services, data]
- Scale: [how many, how long]

**Timeline**
- [HH:MM] Event
- [HH:MM] Detection
- [HH:MM] Mitigation started
- [HH:MM] Resolution

**Root cause**
[Single sentence. Blame systems, not people.]

**Actions to prevent recurrence**
| Action | Owner | Due |
|--------|-------|-----|

Team Announcement (new hire, org change, project launch)

Structure: What's changing → Why it matters to you → What to do

Keep it short. 150-250 words. No corporate filler.

Company Newsletter (monthly/quarterly)

Structure: Headline moment → Team spotlights → Key metrics → What's coming

Aim for scannable. People read newsletters at 30% attention. Put the most important thing first and make it possible to skim.

FAQ Document

Structure: Most important questions first → Questions grouped by topic → Links to more detail

Write questions the way people actually ask them, not the way you wish they would. "How do I get reimbursed?" not "Expense Reimbursement Policy."

All-Hands Summary (post-meeting recap)

Structure: Key announcements → Decisions made → Q&A highlights → Action items

Tone Calibration

Before writing, choose the tone:

Tone	Use when	Example signal words
Warm + direct	Good news, milestones, team wins	"Excited to share", "proud of", "thank you"
Clear + neutral	Process updates, policy changes	"Starting [date]", "going forward", "to clarify"
Serious + calm	Incidents, difficult decisions	"I want to be transparent", "this is significant"
Urgent	Blockers, time-sensitive requests	"Needs your input by [time]", "action required"

Avoid: passive voice, hedge words ("hopefully", "kind of", "sort of"), unnecessary preamble ("I wanted to reach out to let you know that…")

Quality Checklist

Before sending:

• Can the reader understand the key point in under 10 seconds?
• Is there exactly one primary call to action?
• Are names and dates correct?
• Would a new employee understand this without context?
• Does it say something, or does it just report that you exist?

Tips

• The biggest mistake in internal comms is burying the lead. Put the most important information first, always.
• If you're writing to get a decision made, say so explicitly: "I need a yes/no on [specific thing] by [date]."
• Long emails get read less carefully than short ones. If it's more than 300 words, use headers.