The Art of Explanation: Making your Ideas, Products, and Services Easier to Understand

Chapter 13

Bringing an Explanation Together

Meet Emma, a human resources manager of a large clothing retailer. Her company is in the middle of a big change: they're transitioning every employee to a new benefits system with a high deductible health plan. Emma is heading up the team that's been charged with communicating this change to employees.

Although Emma has a great relationship with her colleagues, she's also nervous about this new program. She knows the details of the transition and can see it will be a positive change for almost everyone, but she's not sure how to ease this transition for the employees. Her goal, as outlined by the CEO, is to have 50% of all employees sign up for the new plan within six months.

After dozens of meetings with her team, they are finally ready for the rollout. They've crafted a set of e-mails that will serve as an introduction and invitation to join the new plan. The team agrees that the employees will want to know how it works, so they provide a couple of short paragraphs to explain the plan.

Dear Valued Employee,

Our company has a new health plan that will help us manage our health-care expenses and may lower your monthly health-care expenses. It's called the high deductible health plan. Here's how it works:

Your monthly premiums are likely to decrease and your deductible will increase from $500 to $1,000 when the new plan is implemented. ...