Messaging Docs: The Infinite Brainbox of GTM

My husband and I were watching the latest episode of Succession the other night, and when Kendall said “Give me the double click on longevity so I can see everything. Infinite brainbox”, my husband turned to me and asked “What is “infinite brainbox”?” I work in tech, he works in public policy, and presumably he thought that this was a real “tech speak” thing. It is not. 

“It’s nothing,” I told him. Gibberish, word salad, corporate mumbo jumbo, whatever you want to call it, it’s a phrase that is supposed to impart great meaning and instant understanding, when, in actuality, it leaves the listener more confused and, at times, questioning the credentials of the speaker.

Which is also, sadly, how many messaging docs could be described. 

I’ve written a lot of messaging docs in my career, and I’ve often felt the tension between wanting the document to feel weighty and to have it understood. This tension manifests as a rivalry between corporate speak and a conversational tone. Earlier in my career, corporate speak won out, but as I learned over the years, a more conversational messaging document is both more appreciated and more effective at communicating across a broad swath of stakeholders.

A messaging doc is a framework upon which a lot of different people - designers, PR folks, writers, video producers, sales - build their work. If it’s not easily understood by a vast group of people with different perspectives, it doesn’t work. 

And, to be successful, it has to enable all of your colleagues to be able to put the messages - primary, secondary, and tertiary - into their own words. It’s really hard to achieve that level of understanding, even with a finely crafted document and lots of training. But it’s damn near impossible if you’re using nonsense phrases like “infinite brainbox”.

I wish I had had more confidence earlier in my career to let go of corporate speak, to prioritize broad understanding among my colleagues over appearing “strategic”, and to help build a culture where we talked to each other like we’re all humans (while we are and can). And, after two decades, I’m finally getting there.