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15 May 2008

Passive Aggressive Internal Comms

Posted by: Henry Hicks

Passive Aggressive Internal Comms

Ah the hastily scribbled, passive aggressive note! Is there a more fascinating example of how not to communicate? We've all experienced it as colleagues, flatmates or customers; as audience and (let's admit it) author.

passiveaggressivenotes.com is a wonderful repository of angry scrawlings such as this one:

Passive aggressive note

When you're a third party these notes can be a hilarious study in the psychological responses of people pushed too far. Cracked, cranky individuals who just can't take it any more. 

It's also easy to sympathise with the frustration of the author and the exasperation of the reader.

Internal communications can often descend into passive aggressive note territory. Especially CSR or climate change comms where people are asked to change their behaviour. It can be an email, a poster to remind people to switch of lights or a post-it note fixed to a monitor left on standby...

Does it help in the long run? Does it engage your audience? Would you talk to your customers that way?

The good news is it doesn't have to be this way. There is a bigger conversation to be had, a more compelling story to be told... but big ideas don't fit on post-it notes. So save them for phone messages.

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