Count sheep. Read a page from Tolstoy’s War and Peace. Drink a glass of warm milk. No disrespect, Mr. Tolstoy, but those are a few of my tried-and-true cure-alls for insomnia. Reading a communications protocol book shouldn’t be among them. Recently, we’ve been working with several clients on developing a brilliant approach to their standard operating procedures or protocol books for their communications tools and channels. Here are some tips to develop a protocol book that doesn’t bore your readers:

1. It starts with a plan. Spend some time in the beginning of the project outlining important sections and info you want to be sure to include.
2. Judge the book by its cover. There’s no rule that the protocols need to be long, overly formal, or that it even needs to be titled “protocol book.” How about referring to it as a playbook, or a toolkit? Could you infuse a little creativity to the cover? Consider opportunities to have a little fun.
3. Show, don’t tell. Include visuals and screenshots, wherever possible. Let’s say you’re describing an article submission process. Display the screen or form that content owners will use to submit their info. Once your visuals are in place, you may find that you won’t need a lot of words.
4. Explain the why. Tee up your guidelines with some context for readers. Why do these protocols exist? How do the guidelines set the stage for communicating in a new, fresh way?
5. Challenge yourself and your team. Set realistic goals and commit to specific metrics. For instance, how many stories a month do you want to publish to your intranet? How long do feature articles live on the homepage of your intranet? Put it in writing and it’s more likely to happen.
6. Put it through the human test. Do your protocols sound like a human wrote them? Look for opportunities to invite readers in and introduce more “dos” instead of long lists of “don’ts.” Ensure your tone feels appropriate and authentic to your audience.

Need help developing a brilliant protocol book? You know where to reach us. If you’ve developed a protocol book recently, or have come across a good one, please share it with us!