One simple tip can radically improve intranet content and employee messaging and instantly increase the number of employees who read right to the end:

Stop writing book reports.

Yes, you heard me. So much of the content that is specifically created for employees follows the same pattern we used when writing book reports for school a thousand years ago- this happened, and then this happened and then the next thing happened. Boring! I’ve seen an awful lot of employee content that sets out in excruciating detail the job titles of all involved or the history of an initiative, waiting until the third or fourth (or fifth!!) paragraph to get to the point or the juicy detail, the very reason for sharing the story or information in the first place. So instead of a book report, try writing like a journalist. Decide what the most important idea behind your message or your story is and then drag that sucker up into the first paragraph. You can go deeper into the detail later once you've given your readers a reason to go on. Whether it’s an award for work well done, the impact that readers will experience from a new initiative or progress on a new product, an opening paragraph that picks up the most interesting aspect of the story or message is way more likely to compel readers to read on. Bonus point – it’s also way more fun to write like this. Give it a try.