Hey Reader,

Each week in this newsletter I answer a question from a reader. Today’s question comes from a Comms Manager based in Belgium, who writes:

This is a really interesting take on the AI topic, one that I am keen to talk about. I get lots of questions about using AI in internal comms but this is the first time someone has directly asked me about (a) the feeling of being left behind and (b) how to get past the mental block and just start.

So let’s talk about that in today’s issue.

Are you falling behind?

Let’s start with this truth: your sense of being behind everyone else is most likely displaced. Scrolling through social media can have you believe that everyone in the world has cracked AI, is an expert in AI, has automated all their workflows using AI… but in the real conversations I have with my clients and in my network, this simply isn’t true. Social media shows us polished half-truths and really, most people are still on the learning curve and figuring out how to use AI and what to use it for.

My experience ties with data from the most recent Gallagher report which found that 75% of internal comms professionals are still using AI on a rather ad hoc basis. Most of us are in the same place; curious, a little overwhelmed, trying to figure out how to use AI when we don’t have much space or time to think about it or experiment with it.

So if you feel way behind, just take a breath and relax. You’re not. We’re all learning.

How do you get started?

Now if you have a bit of a mental block about where to start with AI or you just really don’t have time to figure what to do, then why not use my approach: start with your priorities and work backwards from there.

For me, I find it very difficult to start with AI tools and then try to figure out what they’re for. I might be staring at an AI directory website which boasts 1000+ AI tools, and I just feel totally lost and no idea where to start. But this is the wrong approach. We don’t start with tools. We start with our priorities and the problems we need to solve.

This simple approach will change how you think about AI and help you figure out easy ways to start using it, quickly. Instead of trying to retrofit AI onto your work, you start with something real that you already need to do. Maybe you have an urgent task that is going to take a long time, maybe it’s a meaty project you need to plan or a repeatable piece of work you do over and over. Start with your workload and then think about AI next; ask how AI can help you do it better or faster.

Your thinking and strategy comes first. The tools come second.

AI is just a tool, remember. It can help you deliver the work but it’s not your starting point.

An example of what this looks like in practice

Let’s look at an example to show you what I mean. You want to use AI. Your starting point is to ask yourself these questions:

• What are the key priorities I need to deliver this year?
• What are the problems I’m trying to solve for the business?
• What work could I really use a hand with?

Start with those questions, then pick one of your priorities or projects to focus on.

Let’s say one of your priorities for this year is improving how managers communicate with their teams. You know it’s a weak link, the issue has come up repeatedly in employee surveys and your managers have said they feel underprepared and unsupported to communicate effectively with their teams particularly in times of big company announcements. It’s been on your radar for a while as a problem that needs solving and this is the year you’re actually going to do something about it.

Open whatever LLM you have access to (Claude, ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini), try a prompt like this:

That’s it, your AI tool tells you exactly how it can help. You don’t need to figure it out by yourself or feel stuck, just ask. You can then use the tool to help you with any number of parts of this project, e.g. designing a manager communication programme, how to phase the rollout, a manager checklist for effective communication, measurements you can keep track of to indicate your success with the project.

This is exactly the kind of thing we nerd out together in The Curious Tribe, my membership community for internal comms professionals. We have events, peer sharing sessions and async conversations on all things to do with internal comms. If that sounds like what you need right now, you can find out more and join us here: https://www.thecuriousroute.com/thecurioustribe

Thanks for reading and stay curious,

Joanna

Find me on YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn and check out my book​

Want to work together?

• Join The Curious Tribe. This is my membership community for ambitious, curious communicators who want to achieve more in their roles and have fun at the same time. Membership allows you to work directly with me for 12 months, make deep connections with other communication pros who 'get it' and improve your skills through training and learning. More info here.
• Ready to review your channels and content but don't know where to start? Download my practical Internal Comms Audit Playbook to guide you through a DIY audit - no expensive consultant needed.​ This has ready-to-use templates and checklists to give you a systematic way to do your own audit which you can repeat every single year. Get it here.
• Take a shortcut. I've developed a collection of tried-and-tested templates, checklists and how-to guides for the key processes you'll need in your role as an internal communicator. You can download my Internal Comms Cheat Sheets here.​

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