Equipping Your Team to Tell Your Story

As communicators, we love stories. It’s in our bones. We’re wired to share information that shifts perspectives, sparks ideas, and helps people see the world a little differently.

But in our drive to reach new audiences, we often overlook one of the most important ones: our internal audience. Our team.

These are the people who should be the most informed in order to effectively champion the organization. But often, they’re operating with different versions of the same story or incomplete information.

Here’s a simple thought exercise: If you asked everyone in your organization, “What do we do?” would you get the same answer from everyone? Would they use the same language? Would they incorporate your mission and vision? Would they speak strategically or tactically?

If you’re unsure or suspect the answers would vary widely, it’s time to invest in internal communications. And it starts with something simple: documentation.

Step One: Check Your Inventory

Take stock of what exists and what’s accessible. Do your team members have easy access to:

• Mission, vision, and values

• Your brand story and elevator pitch

• A clear description of your work

• Organizational history or context

Organizations may call these things by different names, but the goal is the same: create shared language and a unified story.

If it’s not written down and easy to find, it doesn’t really exist.

Step Two: Make It Usable

Documentation alone isn’t enough. A beautifully written brand guide doesn’t matter if it’s collecting digital dust in a shared drive.

The next step is activation.

Before you begin, ground your team in the why. Why revisit information they may already feel like they know? Because a shared story moves the organization forward, and alignment in language strengthens that story.

Then, put that understanding into practice:

• Host a Story 101 training. Use this as an opportunity to level set. In-person is ideal, but recorded works too. Walk through your brand components and create space for questions and discussion.

• Use staff meetings intentionally. Dedicate a few minutes to one piece of your story at a time. Maybe you start with your mission, your vision, and your values. Then you move to your elevator pitch for the next meeting. Breaking it into smaller pieces makes it easier to absorb and apply.

• Reinforce in real time. When teams are working on new reports, proposals, or initiatives, emphasize the use of already-documented language to create consistency. Communicate the benefit – no need to reinvent the wheel when there are assets already created!  

• Build it into onboarding. Work with HR to ensure new staff receive brand documentation, and ideally, time with your communications team to fully understand it.

At The EO Report and Clarity Channels Communications, we hold a simple belief:

Never leave your story to chance.

Your story is one of your most valuable assets, and it matters that it is clearly defined and understood. When your team is aligned, your story becomes far more impactful.