Principles of communication that make your Slack messages land

Strong communication habits turn long threads into quick decisions. Here are the principles I lean on when writing for Slack or email, with examples you can drop into /shortr.

Start with BLUF

Bottom Line Up Front means leading with the decision, request, or status instead of burying it. Busy readers may only skim the first line.

Pattern: Decision: ___ or Update: ___
Example: Decision: Ship the onboarding tweaks today. Risk: CSAT could dip for legacy users. Mitigation: rolling out to 10% first.

Keep it KISS

Keep It Short & Simple keeps cognitive load low. Favor verbs over adjectives and aim for one idea per sentence. Replace qualifiers (really, just, very) with specifics.

Pattern: Do ___ by ___ because ___
Example: Please confirm the pricing copy by 3 PM so we can queue the release. Instead of: Can you maybe take a look at the pricing copy when you have time?

Anchor with context, then detail

Context is the who/what/when. Detail is the data. Give just enough context to make the detail meaningful, then link out.

Pattern: Context: ___ | Detail: ___ | Link: ___
Example: Context: Onboarding drop-offs rose last week. Detail: Primary loss at step 2 (+8%). Link: dashboard.acme.com/onboarding. Ask: approve the copy tweak.

Write for scanners

Most teammates skim on mobile. Use structure to make skimming easy:

Lead with bold labels: Status — Green, Blocker — Waiting on design tokens
Break apart lists with bullets and short lines.
Put numbers near claims: We reduced response time by 22% after caching.

Make the ask explicit

Close with a clear, observable next step and owner.

Pattern: Ask: ___ | Owner: ___ | Deadline: ___
Example: Ask: Approve the revised CTA. Owner: @Jamie. Deadline: Today 4 PM.

Choose tone with intent

Direct does not mean blunt. Keep tone neutral and respectful:

Swap ASAP with a time: by noon, in the next deploy.
Replace hedges (maybe, kind of) with clarity or curiosity: Can you share the decision criteria?
When disagreeing, pair a fact with a proposal: Prod errors doubled after 1.9. Propose: rollback while we debug.

Close loops quickly

When someone acts on your message, acknowledge and document outcomes. It prevents follow-ups and builds trust.

Pattern: Resolved: ___ | Outcome: ___ | Next check: ___
Example: Resolved: DNS timeout from EU. Outcome: patched and monitored. Next check: status update at 3 PM.

When to switch mediums

If a topic needs high bandwidth (conflict, nuanced decision, ambiguity), move to a call and post the BLUF summary afterward. Long threads with back-and-forth are a signal to switch.