Internal Communications

Use This Skill When

• Writing progress, plans, and problems (3P) team updates
• Creating company-wide newsletters or announcements
• Responding to FAQs or common questions
• Drafting status reports for leadership
• Documenting project updates or milestones
• Writing incident reports or postmortems
• Any internal company communication requiring consistent format

When NOT to Use

• External communications (PR, customer-facing messaging)
• Marketing copy or promotional content
• Personal messages not following company standards
• Highly sensitive legal/compliance matters

Context: Communication Standards Maturity

Undeveloped: Inconsistent formats, unclear messaging, no structure.

Target: Follow company templates, consistent tone, clear structure for each communication type.

Optimized: Automated formatting, tone consistency checking, cross-team alignment.

Core Principle

Consistency builds clarity. Using standardized formats for internal comms ensures information is where people expect it, leadership gets the signals they need, and team alignment increases.

Instructions

Step 1: Identify Communication Type

Determine which category your communication falls into:

Type	Purpose	Frequency	Audience
3P Update	Progress, Plans, Problems	Weekly	Team + Manager
Company Newsletter	Broad updates, announcements	Monthly/Quarterly	All-hands
FAQ Response	Answer common questions	As-needed	Public/Team
Status Report	Leadership summary	Bi-weekly/Monthly	Executives
Project Update	Specific project progress	As milestone reached	Stakeholders
Incident Report	Critical issue documentation	Urgent + Postmortem	Team + Leadership

Step 2: Load Appropriate Template

Reference the company's guideline file:

• 3P Updates → examples/3p-updates.md

  • Format: Progress, Plans, Problems
  • Length: 3-5 paragraphs
  • Frequency: Weekly Monday

• Company Newsletters → examples/company-newsletter.md

  • Format: Highlights, wins, upcoming events
  • Length: 2-3 pages
  • Audience: All employees

• FAQ Responses → examples/faq-answers.md

  • Format: Question + answer + context
  • Length: Concise but complete
  • Searchability: Important for discovery

• General Communications → examples/general-comms.md

  • Format: Flexible but structured
  • Use when type doesn't match above

Step 3: Follow Template Structure

Example: 3P Update Template

# 3P Update: [Your Name/Team] — [Week of DATE]

## Progress ✅
- [Completed milestone 1] — [brief context]
- [Completed milestone 2] — [brief context]
- [Progress on major item] — [% complete or status]

*Key win this week*: [Highlight one significant achievement]

## Plans 📋
- [Next priority 1] — starting [date]
- [Next priority 2] — starting [date]
- [Blocking item] — need [resource] by [date]

*Key upcoming milestone*: [Major deliverable date]

## Problems ⚠️
- [Issue 1] — impact: [X], resolution timeline: [Y]
- [Issue 2] — impact: [X], resolution timeline: [Y]

*How to help*: We need [specific ask] to unblock progress

Example: Company Newsletter Template

# Company Newsletter — [Month/Date]

## 🎉 This Month's Highlights

### Major Wins
- [Achievement 1] — [brief context]
- [Achievement 2] — [brief context]

### Customer Stories
- [Customer success 1]
- [Customer success 2]

## 📢 Announcements

### [Category]: [Announcement Title]
[Details and context]

### [Category]: [Announcement Title]
[Details and context]

## 🗓️ Upcoming Events
- [Event 1] — [date/time]
- [Event 2] — [date/time]

## 💡 Spotlight: [Team or Person]
[Recognition and context]

## 📊 By The Numbers
- [Metric 1]: [Value]
- [Metric 2]: [Value]

Step 4: Gather Required Information

Before drafting, collect:

Communication Type	Key Info Needed
3P Update	Last week's progress, current blockers, next week's priorities
Newsletter	Wins from team, announcements, events, metrics
FAQ	Common question, answer options, context
Status Report	Metrics, milestones, risks, budget status
Project Update	Current status, next steps, dependencies
Incident Report	Timeline, impact, root cause, prevention

Step 5: Draft Following Guidelines

Tone guidelines by communication type:

• 3P Update: Direct, factual, concise (assume reader is busy)
• Newsletter: Warm, celebratory, engaging (build community feeling)
• FAQ: Clear, helpful, jargon-minimized (assume reader is new)
• Status Report: Professional, metrics-driven, executive-level summary
• Project Update: Technical but accessible, clear next steps
• Incident Report: Objective, blameless, focus on learning

Step 6: Quality Checklist

Before sending:

• Matches company template structure
• Tone consistent with communication type
• Length appropriate (not overly verbose)
• All key info included, no critical gaps
• Names and dates spelled correctly
• Links working and formatting clean
• If sensitive, review with manager first
• Proofread for grammar/typos

Output

Deliver:

1. Draft communication using appropriate template
2. Tone verification (consistent with type)
3. Completeness check (all required info included)
4. Ready-to-send version formatted per company standards