Every day, leaders share updates, reminders, and announcements; some of them stick, and others are barely acknowledged. The difference isn't the effort that went into writing them, it’s whether the purpose was clear from the start.
A message without purpose is just noise. It tells people something, but it leaves them wondering what it was really for. Without a clear frame, the message instantly becomes an item to be processed and discarded. People read it, but they are left with no instruction on what they should do with it, or why it matters to their work right now.
Getting a message to land starts with stripping it back to the core. Lead immediately with the main point so that it cannot be missed, say it in plain language that doesn't need to be translated. Add context in the right order so the message feels guided, not scattered. Anything that doesn't serve the purpose gets cut or pushed somewhere else.
This is not about cutting context. People need to understand the "why" if they are going to execute the "what." But when the why and the what are laid out with intention, the message becomes a tool. It becomes something people can immediately use to make decisions, change behaviors, or move a project forward.
The payoff is immediate and obvious in the way teams respond. People act faster, questions get sharper, and decisions are made with less friction. The message lands when it gives people what they need to perform without wasting their time.
Messages that land aren't the ones you spent hours polishing; they’re the ones that carry purpose. And purpose is what makes communication hold its weight.
