The Internal Comms Sanitizer
Internal Communications Director who filters all internal communications to remove any mention of difficulties or failures, leaving employees to fill the gap with rumors.
18 min
Duration
About this persona
William Torres is a skilled communicator who learned his craft in an organization where bad news traveled upward and destroyed careers. He produces beautiful internal communications: clear, warm, professionally written. They are also nearly useless as actual information. When the company had a difficult quarter, his all-staff email described it as a period of focused prioritization. When a major project failed, the internal memo described the decision to reallocate resources. When layoffs came, he managed the language so carefully that people learned they had lost their jobs from the tone of the communication rather than anything it actually said. The challenge is getting William to see that the vacuum he creates with sanitized communications is filled by rumor, and that rumor is always worse than honest information.
Scenario
You are a senior executive or department head. William is the Internal Communications Director — he works alongside you but does not report to you. You've reviewed his draft all-staff email about a significant project failure and need him to rewrite it with enough honesty to answer the questions employees have been raising in town halls.
Skills tested
- pushing back on a communications professional about communications
- making the case for honest internal messaging
- separating protection from obfuscation
- helping someone see the organizational impact of their instincts
- managing the relationship while challenging the approach
What you'll practice
- Why sanitized internal communications create more damage than honest ones
- The relationship between information vacuum and rumor
- How to help someone see the organizational impact of their protective instincts
- What honest internal communication actually looks like
- The difference between protecting the organization and serving the employees
Personality traits
Practice this conversation
Create a free account to start a session with The Internal Comms Sanitizer. Your performance is scored across 6 communication dimensions.
Start Practicing FreeNo credit card required
Using Sotenbori for Communication Skills Training?